Her Greatest Mistake
by ILETUDRIVE
Summary: What happens when you play with someone's mind? How much can a person take before they finally break? How do the people around them survive or do they? Brainwashing storyline to it's violent conclusion, see inside for more.
1. Take My Hand

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Stephanie's Notes: I began this story with just the prologue that I posted here on April 20, 2001. I always had it in the back of my mind to continue this story, but when I began to write this I didn't expect such a dark story to emerge but here it is. This story deals with what can happen if someone is pushed to their breaking point and beyond. It deals with the brainwashing and the outcome that could have happened.

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Rated R: For character death and violence. No character is safe in this story. Just be warned. I am trying to write everyone in character to the show, but I'm not going to pull any punches for anyone. There is both physical and verbal abuse.

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The cast: This story features a very heavy mix of Sonny, Jason, Taggert, Carly, Emily, Lucky, Helena, Zander, Nikolas, Elizabeth, Gia, the Spencers, the Cassadines, and the Quartermaines. In fact the story will eventually encompass all of Port Charles, so if your favorite isn't mentioned yet give it time.

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Disclaimers: This story contains flashbacks, both from the show and ones that I made up myself. If there is a specific date, i.e., December 20, 1999 it is taken verbatim from the show, and I only put in the feelings of one of the participants. If it just says December 1999, then it is something that I made up entirely on my own. 

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One final note. This story begins with an alternate ending to when Jason left the show in 2001. So nothing that occurred after that date on the show, is in this story. No Carly turning Sonny into the FBI, no Stavros, no engagement for Lucky and Elizabeth, etc. It's a whole new history, and it's a fairly dark one. I may begin a little soft but believe me it picks up. Please give it a shot.

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Begging: Give me a hint whether you liked it or hated it, and what needs improved upon. 

Thanks Stephanie

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Take My Hand

~April 20, 2001~

"Come with me," Jason said extending his hand.

Elizabeth's eyes widened staring at his hand and then back up at him, "To Italy?"

"Anywhere you want to go. Just take my hand," He said softly his eyes clinging to hers.

Leave, just leave with Jason the very thought of it careened through her brain. She was caught off guard at how tempting it sounded to her.

Until that moment she had denied the extent of her feelings for this man, so well that even she didn't know how deep they were. She knew she had taken a big step earlier when she had told him that she wanted more from him. She had taken an even bigger step when she finally admitted to Lucky that she had feelings for Jason. But she was unprepared for the reality of just how much she really did feel for him until he held out his hand.

She stepped closer to him, "Why do you even want me after all I've done to you, what I just did to you five minutes ago. Why? No how can you still care?"

"It's easier for you to believe Lucky, it's safer for you to believe him. Your scared about what will happen if you don't believe in Lucky anymore" Jason answered rubbing his hand over the back of his neck. "Lucky has changed, I know you say it's because of the kidnapping and the programming. But that doesn't change the fact that he has changed. You're fighting so hard to hold on to someone who isn't even there anymore Elizabeth."

"He needs me."

Patience gone Jason let loose, "What about what you need? I have watched you turn yourself inside out for months trying to please everyone but yourself. I saw how unhappy you were, and I tried to help. You let me help until you started feeling guilty and then you would push me away. I can't keep watching you do this to yourself. I can't keep letting you do this to me." He sighed heavily before continuing, "You need to be honest with yourself. When we first started talking, that is one thing you always told me, be true to yourself. Elizabeth you need to do that.

The tears slipped down her face at his words, he never forgot what she said, he always put her first. How could she keep hurting him like this?

He closed the distance between them and brought his hands up to her face, he gently rubbed his thumbs over her cheeks brushing away her tears. He drew her closer and lowered his head, his mouth looking for hers, their breath mingled, and at the last second she turned her head. He sighed and let her go.

"I don't want to hurt you Jason, and that seems to be all I do. Carly's right about me I don't deserve you, I am too selfish for you." She pulled away from him, her eyes searching his.

"A part of me has known, since last summer, when I first saw you again on the docks. I was angry and confused because of Lucky and then I turned around and there you were. I saw you smiling at me and things just clicked. I had missed you so much for so long and suddenly there you were."

She ran her hand through her hair taking a deep breath before continuing. "But then there was Lucky. Who was back, just like I had prayed for. You, more than anyone else, knew what losing Lucky did to me. Now he was back. How could I turn my back on him, especially when I knew there was something wrong with him? To do that would have been admitting that what we had was never really real, and I couldn't do that." She moved over to the bench and sat down wearily.

"Then one night, I turned around, and there you were, you had on this brown shirt and you were smiling at me. Suddenly I felt happy again, I felt alive again, I felt hope," she broke off looking up at the sky, "then I felt guilty. Because I was so happy to see someone, and that someone wasn't Lucky."

She turned to face him when he sat down beside her, "You were actually the person who pushed Lucky and I together again. Did you know that? The whole time that he was telling me to be with Nikolas, I don't think he ever thought I would. He might have been programmed but he knew me. He knew that I would never look at Nikolas as anything but a friend. But then he saw how I looked at you. At that time I wasn't even aware of how I looked at you, but Bobbie saw it all those months ago before you left, and Lucky saw. He knew that while I would never turn to Nikolas, I could and would turn to you."

The wind tore at her hair and she tucked it behind her ear before continuing. "So when you left again, I buried those feelings that I was having about you, and I felt so guilty. Guilty because the only reason that Lucky had ever pushed me away to begin with was because of the programming. He still loved me. So everything was going to be perfect, right? I mean after all he was the love of my life. Everyone said we were perfect together. How we were meant for each other."

Elizabeth shivered slightly as the wind blew around them, and Jason reached over and took her hand. She focused on his hand, it was one of the first things she had truly noticed about him. His hands. They were big and strong, yet the made her feel so safe and protected. They were used to violence, but capable of so much gentleness.

Frowning she went on. "Then you came back, and you saw through me like you always do. You saw that I was pretending. That this is the wind up doll version of Elizabeth, smiling on the outside to hide the fact that she was sad on the inside. You didn't come out and say anything, but you knew. I had gotten so used to what I was feeling that I really believed I was happy, until you said my name, and I turned around and found you in my studio."

She broke off remembering, her hand tightening on his, "Happiness, real happiness crashed into me like a wave, for a brief second I let myself see the truth, that I was miserable. But then I shut that feeling off and let myself feel the guilt instead." She whispered, tears sliding down her face.

Jason shifted closer to her, but made no effort to speak. She was finally being honest, and as much as it hurt him to see her in pain, he had to let her finish.

"I didn't feel guilty all of the time, and that's why I kept coming back to you. Seeing you made me happy, being free with you made me feel alive. But I also needed the guilt that those things brought to help myself stay in control. Because it was wrong wasn't it, me being so happy with you and not Lucky?" She asked looking at him, her blue eyes locking briefly on his before turning away again.

"You tell me to put myself first, but that is what I have been doing. I knew before today that you had feelings for me, but I also knew that you would never push them on me. Because you always put me first, I knew that and I used it, I used you." She got to her feet and walked away from him.

"So Carly's right I am selfish, I wanted you in my life but I couldn't tell you how much. So I let you see what no one else did, the unhappiness, the fear, the loneliness, because I knew you would never turn me away. Because Jason I know you." She turned to face him.

"Each time I promised Lucky I would stay away from you, a part of me knew I couldn't. Each time I told you to stay away from me, a part of me knew, that you would never turn me away when I came to you. I knew I was hurting you, and I did it anyway because I'm selfish, I was only thinking about what I needed," her eyes locked on his, "I always put myself before you."

Her body shook as she tried to hold back the tears. Jason stood and pulled her into his arms. She sighed when she felt his familiar embrace, she inhaled his scent, the scent that chased her through her dreams. She wanted to stay there forever, to have him hold her and block out the world. But she couldn't for once she had to do what was right for him. She pulled out of his embrace, "You should be angry at me, not holding me."

"Don't tell me how to feel." He whispered, touching her face.

She sighed heavily before continuing, "When that fight on the docks happened, I knew it was my fault. That all my lying had finally caught up with me and I had hurt the two people I cared about the most. The one thought that echoed through my mind was I can't keep hurting them. Your right, I chose to believe Lucky because it was easier, because I knew you were stronger than Lucky. I knew that you didn't need me like Lucky did."

She looked up into his blue eyes then "But I knew, even then that you didn't attack Lucky. You wouldn't have because it would have hurt me too much. You have done everything you could since I met you, not to cause me any kind of pain. You knew that hurting Lucky would be the one thing that would hurt me the most. I knew you would never do that."

Jason let out a sigh, and relief entered his system. He had always hoped that she believed him, he just never knew until now how much he needed to hear those words from her.

"So knowing that, I had to take a good hard look at myself and at Lucky. You're right Jason, there is something wrong with him. When he attacked you and lied about it that proved something to me that I hadn't wanted to believe before. I wanted. No I needed to help him." She paused for a minute. "And the one thing he wanted was for me to stay away from you. So I did, or at least I tried to but I couldn't stay away. That day in my studio, I knew how much I hurt you, it was one of the hardest things I ever did. But I had to do it, for once I had to take responsibility for my actions. You two were both hurt and it was my fault."

"You didn't cause this Elizabeth."

"Yes I did Jason, I did when I lied to myself. I set everything in motion, so we wound up here. The other day in the park I could see the pain I caused you, and yet I still couldn't stay away from you. I still needed you to make me feel better. **Me**. You just stood there and let me hurt you again."

She bowed her head, "A little while ago I hurt you again, when I defended Lucky instead of you."

"Elizabeth, come with me." Jason said softly holding out his hand.

Her eyes widened in wonder, even after all she had admitted to him, he still wanted her with him. She closed her eyes and bit hard on her lip, she used the pain to help focus her, so she could get through this. "Lucky once offered me his hand. I was lying broken and bleeding in the snow, and he held out his hand. With his help I learned how to be strong, stronger than I had ever been before. I learned how to laugh again, I learned how to dream, and to dream about the future. I learned how much I loved to paint, all because he held out his hand. He helped me become Elizabeth."

She sat on the bench, and looked blindingly at her feet, her voice softened, "When I thought I lost him, for the longest time, it felt like I had died too, only I was still breathing. You helped me feel alive again, and then you left too. I had just begun to discover who Elizabeth was without Lucky, and without you, when Lucky came back."

"This time it's Lucky who is broken. Something happened to him and changed him, from the boy I fell in love with. This time its' him that needs me. He needs my help. After everything he did for me, I can't walk away from him. Not now, when he may be fighting for his life." She finished hardening her resolve.

"But what about you Elizabeth," Jason asked.

"For once I am not thinking about what I need, I'm thinking about what is best for Lucky and what is best for you. You need to leave and I have to stay." She finished on a sob.

He took a step back, "With Lucky?"

She nodded, "I have to help him, I might be the only who can help him. Jason it's been real hard for me to look at myself in the mirror lately, and I would never be able to look at myself again if I didn't help him."

"W-what about you and me?" He asked roughly, he felt like someone had a vise on his heart.

Elizabeth took a deep breath, hating to say the words, but knowing she had to for him, "I need to let you go. I'll lean on you for as long as you let me and that is not fair to you. You deserve to be happy you deserve someone who will put you first. You deserve that more than anyone I have ever met. I can't. No I won't ask you to wait around while I help Lucky."

"I decide what's fair for me." He argued.

She felt her heart break. "I told you that once too, and you didn't listen to me. This time I'm not going to listen to you. I'm setting you free, because I need you to be happy and safe, or as safe as you'll let yourself be."

She scrubbed her face trying to dry her tears, she didn't want him to remember her like this. She crossed to him and hugged him. His arms came around her immediately, pulling her closer into his embrace. She felt his lips in her hair and reluctantly pulled away. She could see a trace of tears in his eyes.

Swallowing hard she spoke "Be happy Jason. That is what would make me happy. Knowing that you are happy." When she turned to walk away from him, he caught her arm, and turned her back to face him.

"If you ever need me." He broke off when she placed her fingers on his lips, she felt him press a kiss in them, and turned away.

She took several steps before stopping, slowly she turned and looked back at him, he hadn't moved, he was still looking at her. His normal expressionless face was wracked in pain.

Without a word she ran back to him, his arms reached out and caught her pulling her to him. She reached up and dragged his head down to hers. His lips finally were pressing on hers. Desire held back for so long raced unchecked between them. His hands went to the back of her head, to bury themselves in her soft hair. He tilted her head up, to change the angle and deepen the kiss. His tongue traced her lips seeking admittance. She opened her mouth and let him in, and his tongue explored her sweetness. He felt her tongue enter his mouth and he closed his mouth around it to suck it. 

How long they stood in that passionate embrace she didn't know. Finally they broke contact, to suck in some much needed air. She rested her head on his chest, her arms beneath his coat, her hands resting on his back. She squeezed him hard, drawing herself closer against him. She stood there soaking up his warmth, his strength, trying to regain her balance. She closed her eyes, tightly trying to save this perfect moment in her mind.

She started to draw away, and reluctantly, he let her go. She looked up into his piercing blue eyes, he brought his hand up to her face gently tracing her soft skin, rubbing his finger over her swollen lips. 

Elizabeth caught his hand and dragged it back to her mouth, placing a kiss in the palm of his hand. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I love Lucky and I always will." She said, keeping hold of his hand when he tried to pull it away. She looked into his eyes, "But I am in love with you."

The she let go of his hand and turned walking blindly away from her heart. Jason stared after her stunned. Just what was he supposed to do now, he thought watching her walk away.


	2. The mistake

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Warning: For this to make sense, please read the Notes at the beginning of the Prologue. 

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Standard Begging: Don't forget to reply.

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Her Greatest Mistake

Chapter 1

July 3, 2001

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~Studio~

Frightened she cowered on the floor, her hands wrapped over her head in a vain hope of self-protection. She was already so numb with pain and shock that she didn't even feel the blows anymore. It took her a long time to realize that the blows had stopped. She opened her eyes and focused on the man's shoes in front of her. She swallowed hard when they moved in closer to her again, and were pulled up slightly when he crouched beside her, and began to rub his hand over her hair. She could hear him murmuring to her but it was hard to understand him over the roar in her ears. The only thing she knew was that she would break soon if he didn't quit touching her.

"Remember now, this is our secret, you won't like what will happen if you talk," he said again the words finally penetrating the fog of pain she was in. He kept running his hand over her soft brown, hair ignoring or not caring that it was matted with blood in some places. "Don't worry I'll make your excuses, do you want me to bring some ribs later?"

She raised her head to peer at him then in shock. Who was this man in front of her? He couldn't be Lucky Spencer, Lucky would never do this to her. She closed her eyes to shut out the image of him standing there staring at her with a smile on his face and madness in his eyes.

He bent then and ran a hand over her face, before crossing to the door and leaving, she heard the click of the lock behind him and she finally took a deep breath, only to cry out in pain when a sharp pain pierced her side.

She moaned and collapsed back on the floor of the destroyed studio, how long she laid there she didn't know, finally she pushed herself to her knees and tried again to get to her feet. Pain entered her body immediately from everywhere. She gripped the overturned couch in an effort to use it as leverage to raise herself off the floor, screaming in pain when she did so. Finally she made it upright, she couldn't stand up all the way the pain in her side wouldn't let her but at least she was on her feet.

She headed towards the door, walking heedlessly over the paint and debris that littered the once clean studio floor. She had one thought running through her head, and that thought was enough to make her keep moving in spite of the pain. She made it to the door and paused to rest against it, finally she unlocked the door and left, leaving a bloody handprint smeared against the door when she did so. She had to talk to Jason it was the only thing that she could think.

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~Panama~

Jason Morgan ran hard along the beach clad only in his shorts, the heat of the day, and the fact he was 10 miles into his run caused sweat to run freely over his body. There was a breeze coming off the ocean and tried to cool his hot skin but he felt nothing, not the breeze, not the heat, not even the burning in his lungs as he pushed himself further.

He was trying but failing to outrun his thoughts. For a man who prided himself at living in the present, he found himself unable to let go of the past. He couldn't and wouldn't let go of the memory of one conversation; no that wasn't true he wasn't able to let go of any of their conversations. So day after day he pushed himself harder, faster, longer trying to escape the memories. His body and his mind were near the breaking point as the man who could not dream suddenly found himself haunted by a pair of sad eyes.

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"You need to go and I have to stay," Elizabeth said with a sob.

He took a step back, "With Lucky?"

She nodded, "I have to help him, I might be the only one who can help him."

He used some of his precious breath to curse himself so he increased the tempo of his run, oblivious to the many admiring eyes on him he continued to push himself in his need to outrun her sweet voice.

He had been running since that night in April, over 2 months ago, and he hadn't outrun her words yet. Sometimes he thought he didn't even want to. He had spent the time tracking Sorel's men and telling himself to forget her, it was what she had asked of him so he had tried.

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"W-what about you and me?" Jason asked roughly, he felt like someone had a vise on his heart.

"I need to let you go, I'll lean on you for as long as you let me and that is not fair to you. You deserve someone who will put you first. You deserve that more than anyone I have ever met. I can't. No, I won't ask you to wait around while I help Lucky.

"I decide what's fair for me." He argued.

"I told you that once and you didn't listen to me. This time I am not going to listen to you. I'm setting you free, because I need you to be happy and safe, or as safe as you'll let yourself be. Be happy Jason, that's what will make me happy, knowing that you're happy."

He pulled up then, the burning in his side too much. He bent over at the waist and tried to pull some much needed oxygen back into his lungs. He stood upright again, resting his hands on his hips to stare out over the ocean, finally he began to move down the beach to his hacienda.

He needed to find a way to let her go before it killed him. She had made her choice and although he hated it, he had to respect it. In some aspects Sorel's bomb attempt had been a blessing, it gave him distance from her. If only he could find a distance from her memory. He shrugged then and kept moving up the beach, his work for Sonny had ended last night, when he had caught the last man. It was time to figure out where he should go next. He sighed heavily when he realized that the two places he wanted to go the most were impossible for him to go to at all, Italy and home.

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~Penthouse~

She leaned against the elevator car wall and tried to keep alert, she knew from the reaction she had gotten from the cabdriver that she must look awful, but she didn't care, she had a goal, talk to Jason and that mantra was running through her head sustaining her.

The doors finally opened and she walked out towards Sonny's door, she wondered foggily why it was closed, it took a while for her to realize that Johnny was not outside the door like usual. She knocked on the door and got no response, she knocked again and there was still no response. Desperate now she pounded on the door, calling hoarsely for help, but it was no use Sonny was gone. 

She backed away from the door until she hit the wall facing it, suddenly boneless she slid down the wall, leaving a bloody smear on the wall when she did so. She concentrated on keeping her eyes open but it was so hard, the pain and the blackness were reaching for her, and she bowed her head on her knees and gave into the comforting nothingness.

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~Panama~

Jason let himself in through the sliding glass door and headed for the kitchen, he opened the fridge and pulled out the gallon of cold water and headed for the window over the sink. He gulped deeply from the jug for a long while, then he let some of the water splash over his face and onto his still heated body. He had no idea why the memories were so strong this morning, but for some reason he couldn't get her out of his mind. He stared unseeingly out the window his mind was once again on the past.

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"If you ever need me," he broke off when she placed her fingers on his lips. He pressed a kiss into them and watched her slowly turn and walk away.

Without a word she ran back to him, his arms reached out and caught her pulling her into him. She reached up and dragged his head down to hers. His lips finally were pressing hers. Desire held back for so long raced unchecked between them. His hands went to the back of her head, to bury themselves in her soft hair. He tilted her head up, to change the angle and deepen the kiss. His tongue traced her lips seeking admittance. She opened her mouth and let him in and his tongue explored her sweetness. He felt her tongue enter his mouth and he closed his mouth around it to suck it.

He could still feel the intense emotion on his lips that all too brief kiss had awoken in him. He had wanted that kiss for so long but nothing had prepared him for the reality of it. Her sweetness, her surrender had unleashed such a powerful longing in him, a longing that he had never felt before. Did she know how hard it was for him to let her go when he could see in her eyes that she wanted what was between them as much as he did? That the need and intense feeling that were awoken in him were reflected in her eyes as well?

He groaned and walked to the fridge to put the water away, and leaned against the cool machine. He had to find his control, he thought briefly before he raced upstairs to take a shower.

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~Penthouse~

"I don't care what you say Sonny, I know blood when I see it and that is blood," Carly said pointing to the stain on the elevator wall. "Someone needs to call maintenance."

Sonny nodded and the elevator doors opened, he, Carly and Johnny stepped out and turned to the penthouse.

"Oh my god!" Carly was the first to notice the brown haired woman, sitting against the bloody wall, her head resting on her knees obscuring her face.

Sonny and Johnny reacted instantly. Sonny pulled Carly behind him back towards the elevator. Johnny pulled out his gun and did a quick sweep of the perimeter, "All clear," he said crossing back to Sonny.

Sonny nodded and moved away from the elevator towards the woman and the door, "Carly go inside."

"No." Carly said.

"Carly," Sonny said wearily.

"No Sonny, this woman was left on our doorstep, **our**, so this is our problem." Carly broke off when she heard a moan from the woman in front of her. 

She moaned again and shifted trying to lift her head, she had heard a woman's voice and was trying to find the owner, but it hurt so much. Finally she raised her head and focused on Sonny and Carly, they stared at her in shock, she could see their mouths moving, like they were yelling when they recognized her, but she couldn't hear anything, the roaring in her ears had started again as soon as she moved her head.

Sonny dropped into a crouch beside her to pick her up, she saw him yell something at Johnny, who quickly opened the door for him. A scream escaped her lips when he rose with her injured body in his arms, he carried her into the penthouse and gently laid her on the couch, Carly following close behind.

Johnny entered behind them and went to the phone to get a doctor, while Carly dampened a towel with the water at the bar, and brought it to Sonny.

"Jason," she managed to get the word out, although she couldn't hear it, she saw Sonny's eyes jerk back to her, so she knew she had spoken aloud, she swallowed hard and tried again, "I have to talk to Jason."

Sonny nodded, and his words finally penetrated through the pain, "You will baby, I just need to help you first, then I'll get him for you." He said pressing the towel to her injured face.

"No….now, I need to talk to him now," She shifted trying to get him to agree, breaking off when another wave of pain went through her body, she stifled the scream and tried again, "Please, talk to Jason now."

"Sonny get him on the phone," Carly said quietly from behind him, "She needs to talk to him and it's obvious she won't calm down until she does. Get him on the phone."

Sonny nodded and went over to the desk to get the cell phone that would direct connect him to Jason anywhere in the world. He couldn't help but focus on her when she moaned again. The rage in him was building, it was useless but it was there. Carly's eyes met his and she saw the anger in them, she smiled at him softly, before turning back to press the cloth to the cut on her forehead trying to stem the flow of blood.

Jason had just gotten out of the shower, and wrapped a towel his waist, when he heard his cell phone ring in the other room. Quickly he left the steamy bathroom, only one person had the number to that phone. "Morgan." He said picking it up.

"Jason," Sonny said before stopping. How was he supposed to tell him that he had failed to keep her safe?

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"Sonny what's wrong?" He could hear the tension, anger, and pain in that one word Sonny had said.

"Sonny," she called struggling to get up from the couch. Carly tried to stop her, but she grabbed Carly's hand, "Help me up," she pleaded, Carly stood and helped her up. "Let me talk to him."

"Hang on Jason, someone needs to talk to you," Sonny said crossing to her quickly and placing the phone into her bloody hand.

"Jason," his name came out in a broken whimper, she swallowed hard and tried again, "I'm sorry."

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"Emily?" Jason tensed, he could barely recognize his sister's voice.

Emily tried to focus, she had to get through this, she couldn't break until she told him, "Jason, I'm sorry, I let you down." She said with a sob.

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"Emily it's okay, no matter what it is we will fix it," Jason said softly trying to soothe her, "just tell me what's wrong."

She shuddered before continuing, "You told me that something was wrong with him." She said with a choked breath, "you told me to keep an eye on him and Eliza-Elizabeth, and I did, but I didn't really believe you, I'm so sorry I didn't believe you."

Carly reached over and placed her hands on Emily's shaking shoulders trying to soothe her, while Sonny kept his eyes trained on her, trying to figure out who she was talking about, it sounded like Lucky, but Lucky couldn't have done this could he? Johnny took up his post inside the open door, watching all three, inside he felt the anger that someone had hurt that sweet kid.

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"Emily I need you to take a breath and talk to me," Jason coaxed keeping his voice even and quiet, even though a knot of tension had entered his gut.

"I was too late Jason, I didn't realize the truth until it was too late." Emily began again, her breathing becoming erratic, "there was blood everywhere, and I was to late. Everything was broken, and there was blood." She was beginning to hyperventilate, Carly reached an arm around the girl trying to hold her up, "I'm sorry Jason…there was so much blood," she stared off in space the darkest memories were beginning to reach out to her. When she went on her voice was a whisper, "The studio…destroyed…so much blood."

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"Emily, just finish it quickly," Jason ordered quietly his heart began to beat faster, and the icy pinprick of fear raced down his back.

Emily took a deep breath, "It's Eliza-Elizabeth…blood everywhere…destroyed…I was too late…Lucky did it…Elizabeth is dead, Lucky killed her." She yelled the words that she didn't know how to say. Then shut down, the phone fell from her hands, she moaned and sagged back into Carly. The awful images of what she had seen racing through her mind.

Sonny stared blindly at her for a minute in shock, watching Carly ease the hurt girl back on the couch, he finally bent down and retrieved the phone, "Jason?" he asked finally, there was no response from the other end.

Sonny swallowed hard and gripped the phone, "Jason I need you to talk to me," he paused waiting, still nothing, "Jason talk to me," he ordered knowing the man was still there he could hear him breathing.

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"S-Sonny," Jason's voice broke on that one word, Sonny could hear the devastation in the voice, and his heart broke for his friend.

"I'll take care of it Jason, I'll get people working on it tonight. All you have to do is get on the plane," Sonny said quickly. "You hear me Jason get on the plane, I will put everything in motion, you just get back here."

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"Son…"

"Jason hang up and go to the airport, I will arrange everything from here. I am telling you to go to the airport." Sonny ordered harshly, he had to focus his friend now, he had never heard Jason unsure like this before.

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After a long pause Jason said, "Okay," and then he disconnected the phone.

Jason stared around the room and tried to comprehend what had just happened. He shook his head as if trying to deny the words that Emily said. Elizabeth's voice entered his head instead.

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"I love Lucky and I always will," she said keeping hold of his hand when he tried to pull it away, "But I am in love with you…Elizabeth is dead."

Jason shook his head in denial.

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"I bet you've seen the wind in so many places," He sucked in a breath. _"It's Elizabeth she's dead"_, he shook his head again and the voice got louder in his head. _"O Come All Ye Faithful, her voice loud and deliberately off key."_ He began to prowl the room, his breathing becoming erratic.

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"But I am in love with you" He clenched his fists, _"yeah I'm kind of a brat that way…do I get to drive? Her eyes begging him."_ His lungs were burning again he couldn't seem to breathe correctly and the next wave of memories hit him. _"Talking with you is like hearing myself think…I am in love with you…It's Elizabeth, she's dead Lucky killed her…I can't spend my life on the back of your motorcycle…more than a friend is okay, that's how I feel about you … when I imagine seeing Italy I imagine I'm with you…live here by myself with you …I am in love with you…Elizabeth is dead."_

He brought his hands up to his ears trying to stop her voice, _"I have to help him, I might be the only one who can help him, he needs me … I am in love with you … Lucky killed her … I am in love with you … there was so much blood … Lucky killed her … I am in love with you … she's dead … I am in love with you."_

With a scream of rage, Jason picked up a chair and sent it hurtling through the patio door breaking it and sending the glass flying everywhere, _"But I am in love with you."_ Her voice still echoed in the air.

"Elizabeth." He screamed, "What have I done?" He collapsed to his knees, for the first time in his life he let himself break. "Elizabeth." 

__

"But I am in love with you."


	3. The Closet

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Warning: For this to make sense you should read the Notes at the beginning of the Prologue

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Standard Begging: Please let me know what you think.

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Her Greatest Mistake

Chapter 2

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~Penthouse~

Sonny hung up the phone, closing his eyes tightly; maybe if he could make it dark enough the words wouldn't be true. He had tried that so many times before, with Lily, Brenda, Juan, the baby, it never worked but he always tried it.

Elizabeth's voice and the memory of her half smile entered his brain.

__

~January 20, 2000~

Elizabeth walked into the penthouse carrying a pan, she paused and shot a half hopeful smile at Sonny, "Me again. Sorry?"

"For what?" Sonny asked confused.

She paused in surprise, pulling her long hair away from her face, "I'm sort of amazed you're still speaking to me. I wasn't sure you'd except these." She said holding out the pan.

He took the pan from her and studied it before looking back at her, "What's all this?"

She shrugged, "Just some brownies I made."

Sonny smiled then, and his whole expression changed with that smile, it showcased his dimples "Yeah?" he paused then "Why wouldn't I be speaking with you?"

Elizabeth bit her lip, the light in her eyes gone, "Because it's my fault Jason's gone," she said softly.

He put the pan on the desk and turned to face her putting his hands on his hips, "Where did you get the idea you ran Jason out of town?"

Her face reddened in embarrassment she began to talk faster then, "Oh-I-I---I didn't mean that the way it sounded. It's not like the world revolves around me. But I'm pretty sure that I was a factor, and that makes me feel awful." When she finished speaking she bowed her head. 

From the slump of her shoulders he could tell she was miserable, his heart went out to her, "Well what did you do to make him leave?"

She was quiet for a minute before finally looking up at him a trace of tears in her eyes, "Basically I hung on too tight." She whispered.

Sonny slammed his hand on the desk, needing to feel the pain to block the memory of her voice. For once he had to be the strong one, he had to be the one to take care of Jason this time.

"Johnny." The name was snapped out. Sonny pinched his nose, centering himself before focusing on the man beside him. "I want you to get Francis, Pete and Cal over here now," he ordered, Johnny turned to move away, "Wait cl-clean up the blood outside and in the elevator, we don't want anyone getting curious."

Sonny turned back to the couch where he could see Carly whispering to Emily trying to soothe her. Carly met his eyes and began to rise. He stopped her with a shake of his head and picked up the phone. He flipped through his book, found the number and placed the call.

__

"Hola?"

"Enrique, it's Sonny."

__

"Mr. Corinthos, what can I do for you?" Enrique asked straightening in his chair.

"I need your plane, fueled and ready to fly immediately."

__

"Certainly my flyer is ready anytime."

"Not the flyer, the jet, I want it fueled and ready to fly to Port Charles immediately," Sonny said shortly.

__

"Mr. Corinthos, the jet it is already booked," Enrique began apologetically.

"Enrique," his voice was quiet and deadly, "get the jet ready, file a flight plan for Port Charles, you will leave as soon as your passenger arrives."

__

"Y-yes," Enrique whispered paling at the menace in Sonny's voice, his skin had chilled even though it was still over 90 degrees.

Sonny looked at his watch, "Jason Morgan should be there in a half an hour. You will leave as soon as he arrives. I don't care about the cost, just get him here."

__

"Yes sir."

He went on like Enrique hadn't even spoken, he knew it would be done, "If Jason is not there in a half-hour you call me right away. You call me when you're ready to leave to give me a time estimate. Do you understand me?"

__

"Yes sir." Enrique said meekly

"Good you have a half an hour," he hung up on Enrique's sputtering reply.

Johnny knocked on the door, "Dr. Wilson is here," he moved then showing in an older gentleman with white hair.

"Doctor, she's over there," he gestured to the couch.

Dr. Wilson went to Emily and checked her briefly, before looking up at Sonny, "Is there somewhere more private I can examine her?"

"Johnny, take her upstairs to the guest room." Sonny ordered and watched the guard pick her up carefully, but Emily still let out a scream of pain, and that caused his gut to clench. He nodded at Carly for her to follow them upstairs.

Sonny moved over to the bar, and poured a large portion of Scotch in a glass and drained it in one gulp. He poured another one and carried it to the window to look out into the night. He was so lost in his thoughts, that he didn't even notice Johnny when he came back through the room to stand outside the door.

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~Studio~

"Hey Elizabeth, you want to get the door, my hands are full," Lucky called through the closed door, knocking at the base of it with this foot, his hands were full of smelly bags of ribs.

"Lizbeth," he called again before bending over to set the food down on the floor. When he rose, the smeared stain on the door caught his eyes. That hadn't been there earlier, he thought studying the stain and straightening slowly. It was probably just paint, not blood. A shiver went through him when he thought that. He brought his hand to it uneasily, and touched it with this finger, he brought his find closer to his face to study it, finally he touched the tip of his tongue to it. The salty, coppery, metallic taste of blood was easily recognizable.

"Elizabeth," he murmured digging in his jeans for his keys to open the door.

Lucky pushed the door open and moved slightly into the doorway, the studio was dark, something inside of him was screaming at him that he didn't want to turn on the light, that he needed to run away now, and never look back. His hand went to the light switch on the wall, and he took a deep breath before turning it on. The blackness in the room vanished, his eyes widened taking in the devastation of the room.

He brought his hand up to his mouth, feeling his stomach begin to churn when he saw the blood. He couldn't see anyone in the studio, his eyes were drawn to the closed closet door. He began moving to the door without even being aware of it, stepping heedlessly in the blood or paint that was on the floor. He stopped at the door, everything inside of him that was still good, told him not to open the door. He put his hand on the doorknob, and then slowly opened the door.

Lucky staggered back in surprise and slammed the door closed, a keening wail beginning to come from him. His eyes focused on his hands that were holding the door closed, he saw that his knuckles were bruised and bloody. Belatedly he remembered the strange looks he had gotten in Eli's. He looked down then to study his clothes.

He gasped when he saw blood splatters on his jeans. The front of his white shirt was covered with a long red stain that he knew was blood. "What have I done?" he choked out his face red, he felt the walls closing in.

Terrified he turned and ran from the room, pulling at the door behind him. "Get away," he gasped pausing briefly in the hallway. All thoughts of Elizabeth were vanquished when he ran from the building. The overpowering need to flee was upper most in his mind. He paused in front of the building, before finally turning left towards the docks. The darkness quickly swallowed him up, the keening noise he was still making the only evidence that he was there and then it too was gone.

****

~Penthouse~

"Sonny," Carly said softly slipping her arms around his waist, jolting him from his thoughts.

"How is she?"

"The Doctor's still with her," Carly was worried about him, he was so still. She knew he got that way when he was brooding, when the darkness was beginning to come over him. "Are you okay?"

Sonny rested his head against the pane of glass that was still cool thanks to the air conditioning, "I let him down again," he whispered into the night.

__

~April 20, 2001~

"I'll take care of it Sonny," Jason said his hands still shaking slightly handing off the now diffused bomb, to a waiting Johnny.

Sonny was pacing the room, he barely heard Jason's words. A BOMB, Sorel sent a bomb to his house where his family lived. He shook his head, images of Lily entered his head, "I love you," Lily said turning to smile at him, walking away with the keys in her hand. Her pink dress was blowing in the wind while she headed for the car. He turned back to Luke and Mike for another congratulations, only to turn back and feel the explosion. The noise of it remained in his ears for months. He still dreamed of it, and always woke up smelling the burning metal that had become her tomb. He pulled himself back slightly when he felt Jason's hand on his arm.

"Sonny," Jason said quietly.

Sonny finally looked at his friend, his eyes a little unfocused and wild, God he hated bombs. "You need to end this Jason. You need to end it for me." He ordered the temper livid in his eyes.

Jason took a deep breath and nodded, "I'll handle it, I'll leave tonight."

Sonny gripped Jason's arm in relief. Gratitude entering his system, he could always count on Jason to handle things.

"I need you to do something for me," Jason's voice interrupted Sonny's thoughts.

"Anything." Sonny said quickly anxious for Jason to start.

"There's something wrong with Lucky Spencer," Jason began.

Sonny interrupted, "Again with Lucky, Jason you need to focus here."

"Sonny, something is wrong with him, he has attacked me more than once. Elizabeth and Emily are alone with him to much and he's not right." Jason pressed.

Sonny turned away, angry with Jason he studied the aftermath of the birthday party in the penthouse. Lately all Jason seemed to think about was Lucky that was because of Elizabeth, but still enough was enough. He only half-heard Jason's words, his eyes had fallen on one of Michael's toys and anger coursed through him again.

"I always watch out for Emily, and I'll keep an eye on Elizabeth too, although I doubt anything will happen, that kid is crazy about her. You just have to let her go, she obviously made her choice," Sonny interrupted Jason, ignoring Jason's expression of surprise at Sonny's words, "I need you to focus on Sorel now, not Lucky Spencer, he's the threat here."

Sonny watched Jason close his eyes and shut off his expression. Jason rubbed a hand over his face when he finally opened his eyes, he looked at Sonny his eyes cold, the emotion of the last few minutes gone. "I said I would do it," he said curtly heading for the door.

Sonny felt a pang of regret, knowing he had hurt Jason. He followed his friend to the door, "I'm sorry Jason I promise you I will keep an eye on both of them."

Jason paused at the door but didn't look back, "Just keep them safe, I need her safe."

"I will, I promise," Sonny said watching his friend leave, his mind had already moved on to what he was going to tell Carly.

"I promise," Sonny said mockingly, pulling away from Carly. "We all know what a promise from Sonny Corinthos means, especially a promise to Jason," he said bitterly downing his drink.

"Sonny," Carly followed him.

"It means don't worry Jason, I'll take care of it, just like I always do. I'll fuck it up, just like I always do, I'll let you down just like I always do," Sonny cried throwing his glass into the empty fireplace, "I'll let her die, I'll mess it up and take her from you just like I took everything else from you."

"Sonny you didn't know," she tried to hold onto him.

"That's just it Carly," he took her arms to hold her away from him, "I did know, Jason told me, but I didn't want to hear it."

The tears slid down her face when she saw the loathing on his face, loathing that she knew was directed at himself. "Sonny it's not your fault, don't take this on yourself."

"Don't you see," he yelled, before taking a breath, "I have to do this now, because it's not about me, this time. I need to get this all out before he gets here. Because this time it is about Jason and what he needs, not me! So I am going to do this now and then bury it, because when Jason gets here I am finally going to put him first. He's been my best friend for five years now, don't you think it's time, I thought about him?"

"Mr. Corinthos?" Dr. Wilson's voice came from the stairs, interrupting the tense scene.

Sonny whirled on the doctor, "How is she?"

"Well she will be okay, without x-rays I can only guess, but I would say she has at least one broken rib, and probably a bruised one. She is not coughing up blood, so the chance of internal injuries or a puncture are slight." He said moving over to the table to dig in his bag.

"What about her head? There was so much blood." Carly asked.

"Head injuries always look like that, even the minor ones. I stitched up her forehead, 6 stitches along the hairline, it won't be real noticeable. She has a mild concussion, so I don't want to give her any strong pain medication yet. I'll leave these with you for tomorrow," he said pulling a bottle of pills from his bag.

"Is she in much pain," Sonny asked quietly.

"She should be, she's in shock, and that is protecting her from the pain. Unfortunately the shock will wear off soon, and then she will feel it. She has bruises and cuts over a lot of her back and arms, nothing life threatening but it will be quite painful for her for a few weeks." He said quickly picking up his bag to head to the door.

"Sonny," Johnny tapped on the door and opened it.

Sonny held up his hand, "Anything else?"

"I want you to keep waking her up through the night, and keep her warm. If anything happens call me right away." He began before pausing and turning back to Sonny, "A word of advice however, if you need to explain away her injuries, don't use a car accident, there are grip marks on her arms, that were definitely left by someone's hands. All in all she is a very lucky girl."

Sonny flinched at the doctor's words.

By the door, he stopped again, "Was there anyone else you wanted me to see?"

"Why?"

"Well from the placement of some of the blood on her clothes, it couldn't have come from her head wounds," Dr. Wilson shrugged, "maybe its from her attacker, but it seemed to me, most of her injuries were defensive in nature, not from attacking someone." He shook his head, "Well goodnight Mr. Corinthos."

Johnny stepped aside to let the doctor out, but stayed in the doorway, watching Sonny. 

Sonny's mind was caught by what the Doctor had said about the blood, he was afraid he knew whose blood it was. He closed his eyes again to keep her image at bay; the desk on the phone began to ring. He stared at it blindly before moving to pick it up, "Corinthos."

__

"Mr. Morgan is here, we will leave in ten minutes," Enrique said in a rush.

Sonny sighed in relief, closing his hand in a fist, "How is he?"

__

"He-he looks unwell," Enrique said, studying the man in the hangar that was untrue. Jason looked like he was already dead but somehow was still moving. Unconsciously he made the sign of the cross, and studied the man. This was not the same man he had flown into Panama 2 weeks before.

Sonny sucked in a breath, "When will you arrive?"

__

"Five hours if the tail wind holds."

"Make it hold." Sonny ordered and hung up the phone. He looked at his watch, it was 10:30 now, Jason should be here by 4:00 a.m. at the latest. He had to get busy.

"Carly would you sit with her?" Sonny asked quietly not meeting her eyes.

She pulled his face up so she could look at him, she could see the pain and despair in his eyes and it broke her heart, "Sonny it's not your fault."

"Carly please, not now," he said pulling away from her.

"Sonny," she tried again, but he turned his back on her, finally she turned and headed for the stairs. "It's not your fault." She repeated moving upstairs and out of the room.

Sonny closed his eyes, yes it was, _"I promise."_ His own words rang in his ears.

"Johnny," he said not turning around. He heard him and the others move into the room, yet he kept his back to them. "Cal I want you to find Lucky Spencer and sit on him." 

He turned around then, his face set in harsh lines, "Pete you're on the door, no one gets in here tonight. No one." Both men nodded and he waved them away.

"Francis, did Johnny fill you in?" Sonny asked unnecessarily he couldn't help but see the anger in the other man's eyes. "Good you two are with me, we need….we need to check on a friend." He stalked to the door.

****

~Studio~

Sonny's steps slowed when he drew near the studio. He didn't know how he was going to get through this. He sucked in a breath, he would, because he had to. He had to know everything so he could help Jason. Jason was the important one here. He took a deep breath and then turned the final corridor leading towards her studio. He felt Johnny and Francis close behind him.

The smell from the food bags propped against the wall next to the door caught his attention first. He glanced down at the greasy bags, then slowly moved up to the smeared bloody handprint. The door was slightly ajar, but he made no move to open it. The memories had hit again.

__

"That's what life's about. People come, people go. Sometimes it's hard. You just got to roll with it." Sonny said to Elizabeth leaning against the desk.

"Especially when the ones who leave you are the ones you need the most," Elizabeth said quietly moving next to him, he could see the wistful expression on her face.

"You know, I'm just a phone call away, if you ever need anything." He was determined to watch out for her no matter what.

"Back off." Sonny ordered the memory, staring again at the studio door.

"Boss are you okay?" Johnny asked he knew how Sonny got when he couldn't handle guilt.

"Let's do this." Sonny said finally pushing the door open.

The lights were still on, he could see the destruction and violence plainly illustrated by the florescent lighting of the studio. He heard a sharp breath behind him.

"Francis are you sure you can do this?" He asked turning to face the big man behind him. He finally remembered that Elizabeth had been under his watch for several months last year.

Francis studied the carnage, his eyes going darker when the memory of her slammed into him.

__

"Call me Elizabeth," she pleaded filling his cup with coffee.

"Sure thing Ms. Webber." This had become a running battle between them, and he wasn't going to break first.

"Men." Elizabeth smiled and stalked into the kitchen at Kelly's.

He blinked the memory away, "Yes," he answered shortly, clenching his fists.

"Okay," Sonny nodded and moved into the room, his eyes scanning the debris, praying he wouldn't see her body.

Johnny and Francis split up each taking one side of the small studio. They could tell already that she wasn't in there. The only place that she could be was in the closet. Both men edged their way to the closed door, carefully stepping around or over the destruction as to not disturb any evidence.

Sonny moved carefully around the clutter towards the door. He could already see the bloody imprint of hands on the door. He took a deep breath to try to prepare himself, he prayed in that instant with everything in him that she would not be in there. He opened his eyes and nodded at Johnny who opened the door with a handkerchief.

"Jesus," the word slipped out when the smell hit him first. 

~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~

If you want more you're going to have to reply and let me know.


	4. It's so loud in my head

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Notes: If you read the blather on the prologue this story will make a lot more sense. Remember it is totally my creation after April 20, 2001.

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Plea: Please reply. Like it or hate it, let me know.

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Her Greatest Mistake

Chapter 3

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~Penthouse~

"Sonny?" Carly called walking down the stairs, and glancing around the empty room.

She crossed to the bar and poured herself a drink, her hands couldn't help but shake when she thought about the difference a couple of hours could make. Two hours ago Sonny and her were at Luke's for a rare night out, and now, she gulped her drink, now, Sonny was god knows where, Jason was on his way home, Emily was terrified in the guest room, and Elizabeth was…

"It's not my fault, I didn't know." Carly said out loud pouring herself another drink. "I didn't know." She repeated softly.

She set the glass down, went to the door and opened it. "Johnny where's Sonny?" She asked before looking at the guard. "Pete, what are you doing here?"

"Johnny went with Mr. Corinthos, I don't know where they went."

She nodded, and began to close the door, "Do you know if Cal is with him too?"

"No it was Francis." Pete answered turning back to the hall when he heard the elevator stop, "Mrs. Corinthos."

"What? Oh I'm not here." Carly told him shutting the door in his face.

She leaned against the door for a minute before moving back to the bar to pick up her drink. She had to talk to Cal before Sonny or Jason did. She never wanted Elizabeth dead, but she wasn't about to let the girl wreck her life now. She was going to make sure Cal kept his mouth shut.

Her hand shook, slopping the drink on the floor, when she moved to the couch. Sonny was right they needed to deal with these feelings now, before Jason arrived. She could see Sonny drawing back, blaming himself already. She had to reach him. She wouldn't let him pull away from her, not now, not when he needed her so much.

She sipped her drink, and as much as she hated to admit it, Jason cared deeply for Elizabeth. She smiled ruefully, she couldn't understand it and she had certainly tried to stop it, but Jason still cared for her. She was going to have to be the strong one for both Sonny and Jason.

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"I need to speak with Sonny. Is he there?"

Carly flinched when she heard Elizabeth's voice. She ran a hand through her hair. It wasn't her fault. She needed to get this guilt out, so she could help the men in her life. She sat in the darkened room alone, with tears streaming down her face. "I'm sorry Elizabeth I didn't know."

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~Docks~

Lucky crouched back, further under the dock, when he heard footsteps above him. He didn't know how long he had been sitting in the damp; he was still waiting for the voices in his head to go away.

"Get off!" He screamed kicking the rat off his shoe. He covered his mouth to shut off the noise of his keening so he wouldn't be heard. They found you if you made noise, he had to be quiet.

His eyes darted around peering into the darkness he was hiding in. The only light was from the streetlamps that slid through the slats of the dock above him. Unbidden a memory entered his brain, he had stayed here once before with Elizabeth.

He smiled slightly, remembering, he hadn't been able to sleep, he had to stay awake to watch her sleep, to make sure nothing touched her and she wasn't scared. In the morning he had snuck away to get the bear she had forgotten at Audrey's.

Lucky sat on the damp ground his expression softening in remembrance; her brown eyes had lit up when she saw the bear. He had been in love with her even then.

"Elizabeth." Just saying her name gave him a sense of peace. The rats had come back to chew at his shoe and pant legs, but they went unnoticed by Lucky, he was wrapped up in the memory of her smile.

__

"No! Lucky please stop."

Lucky jerked made alert once again by the sound of her voice. "Elizabeth?" He looked around but couldn't see her anywhere. 

"Come out Elizabeth." He got to his feet, sending the rats to the ground, scurrying away from him, while he wandered the small area.

__

"My bear, we left in such a hurry, I forgot him. I didn't realize it until last night. Thanks Lucky."

"I'd do anything for you Elizabeth." He explained to the image of the 15 year old Elizabeth in front of him. He had found her and the voices had stopped, she always made the voices stop.

__

"Please Lucky you're hurting me."

He shook his head, the image of Elizabeth had changed, she was older now, her hair was short, she wore more make-up, she was crying and she was bleeding from the head. Horrified he reached out to her. "Elizabeth?"

__

"Why are you always hurting me Lucky?" The bleeding Elizabeth asked him.

"No, no, no. I wouldn't hurt you." Lucky shook his head, backing away from her. "I love you."

He looked at her again, and she was gone, all he could hear was her crying. Her tears always broke his heart. He brought his hands up to his ears to block the sound. He paced the small area, trudging through the puddles of water, muttering to himself.

__

"You're killing me." The words were a gasp, as she fought for air.

He stared down at his hands, "NO!" He yelled plowing his fist into the pylon. "You don't understand." He yelled and began to run, to run away from her voice and her tears. "No."

****

~Jet~

Jason stared blindly out into the inky blackness of the night sky. The blackness seemed to go on forever, just like a void.

__

"Do you know what nothing feels like?"

He flinched he could still see her, see how she looked that night, the night he really spoke to her the first time. The tight black jeans, the heavy make-up, the dark halter top, her eyes filled with pain and anger, her eyes a reflection of his own.

__

"Yeah, that's pretty much where I live."

He pressed his hand against the cold window she couldn't be dead. He shook his head, trying to clear the thought from it. He had halfway resigned himself to the fact that he might never be with her the way he wanted, but as long as he knew she would still be around, the hope sustained him. He remembered another conversation he had with her.

__

September 1, 1999

She started to back away, to leave him alone in the park with his thoughts, she stopped and focused on him again, worrying her bottom lip. He would soon discover she did that a lot.

"I might regret saying this because, you know the great thing about you is that you never try to make me feel better and everybody does that, and now I'm about to do it to you." She halfway smiled at him.

Jason shoved his hands in his pockets, looking down at her. "Okay."

"At least you know Michael's around. You can hear about him, watch him grow up from a distance, and maybe someday." She stopped and shrugged, "Well you never know right?"

He studied her for a long minute, "You never know."

"See ya." She smiled at him and left.

The plane bucked, hitting some turbulence, drawing him back to the present, she had been right. He could watch Michael grow up from the sidelines, it wasn't what he had hoped for, but he could still see him when he was in town. That was how it was going to be with her too, it would hurt, but as long as he knew she was okay he could do it

__

"Lucky killed her."

He clenched his fist and headed to the small bar set-up on the plane. He unlatched the refrigerator to get a beer. He had to keep moving to outrun Emily's voice. It always found him when he was still. It just couldn't be true. He would know if she was dead, wouldn't he?

He thought back to the first time he had told her goodbye, he didn't know how hard it would be on him and her until he had actually done it. The light in her eyes, that he had seen whenever she was with him, had died. She had gone stiff, a small, polite, fake smile was pasted on her face. It was the first time the fake Elizabeth had made her presence known when she was with him, and he had hated it. The guilt he felt for making her retreat into that shell ripped at him. So he pressed her for the truth, and then it got even harder.

__

"Don't ask me how I'm feeling if you don't want to know."

He drank his beer, moving back to his seat. He picked absently at the label, on the bottle, while he remembered her argument and her tears.

__

"These people, am I one of them?" Her eyes weren't empty then, they were angry and a little desperate.

Jason shifted on the bench, moving closer to her. "Yes."

She closed her eyes and shook her head in denial. "No, you're wrong. I don't hurt because of you Jason, I would hurt without you."

Her voice had taken on a pleading edge, that he hardened himself too. She had come to mean so much to him, but he couldn't stay. Staying would hurt so much more, and so many people. 

"Do you know how hard it is to lose the only person who believes I can figure out my own life?" She asked him, her eyes pleading with him.

He took her hand. "You're not losing me, I'm just going away."

This time when he left he hadn't even told her. He always told her, either in person or through Emily, but not this time.

__

"I am in love with you."

His grip tightened on the bottle, he couldn't face her after that. He wouldn't have been able to leave her alone. He had to leave for Sonny, and for her, but if he saw her again, he wouldn't have been able too. God why hadn't he seen her again?

He focused on the window, his face set, his eyes cold, and empty at the moment. He was going to stay this time, until he found her, no matter what. He was going to find her.

__

"No, I'll see you later."

****

~Studio~

Sonny took an involuntary step back from the smell and the blood he saw in the closet.

"God." Johnny muttered looking in the closet. He gestured to a rucksack on the floor, "The smell is coming from there."

Sonny focused on the bag in relief, she hadn't been in there. The relief didn't last long, he focused on the blood that was spattered on the walls. "Open it."

Johnny nodded, moving carefully into the closet, to hunch over the bag and work on the knots. He was being careful, trying not to move or touch anything, he didn't want to destroy any evidence.

Prayers Sonny didn't even know he remembered ran through his mind while he stepped away from the closet. His eye fell on the blinking red light of the answering machine. Sighing he made his way over to the one piece of furniture that was still upright. He picked up a paintbrush and pressed the recall button on the machine.

__

"Elizabeth darling are you there?" Audrey Hardy's voice came from the machine. "I hate to bother you, I'm looking for Gatsby. I know that he probably just got spooked because of some early fireworks, but I am still worried. Lucky always knows where to find him, could you ask him for me? Oh, Mrs. Powell, my neighbor said Lucky came by earlier, do you know what for? Anyway I hope you are feeling better, I have missed seeing you. I hope I'll see you at the picnic tomorrow."

"Gatsby is a cat." Francis explained when the machine clicked off.

"I think I found him." Johnny called from the closet; he had opened the bag, exposing a decapitated black cat.

"Christ." Sonny closed his eyes, while Francis made the sign of the cross.

Johnny closed the bag and moved quickly out of the closet.

"Francis, you're up." Sonny's voice was ragged.

"What?"

"You were a cop, give me you're first impressions on what happened here." Sonny moved to the open window. There was no breeze tonight and it was stifling in the small studio. The smell emanating from the closet was beginning to penetrate the room.

"The message from Mrs. Hardy came in at 6:10 tonight." Francis began, "Even though decomposition has begun on the cat, it was still only killed a few hours ago. The heat and the enclosed space are aiding the decomposition."

"The head is missing."

Sonny turned to stare at Johnny. "What?"

"It's not in the bag with the cat, and it's not anywhere in the closet. Lu…He took the head." Johnny stopped himself from saying his name, but the thought had been exposed.

"Go on Francis." Sonny turned back to lean on the windowsill.

"There is too much blood, in here and in the closet to have come from the cat." Francis studied the closet again. His voice had taken on the monotone edge of giving a report. The memory of the crime scene training he'd had was coming back to him, it was easier now, to separate himself from the victim. "I know Emily had a head wound and even though they bleed, I think there was another victim. I need some time and equipment to analyze the blood spatters but I feel confident in saying there was someone else…" He stopped when he remembered who the other victim most likely was.

"Jason will be here by 4:00 a.m.," Sonny spoke up. "Get everything you need and work the room. Call in Joey to monitor and help. If either one of you starts feeling nervous, leave, I don't want you caught here by the cops." He put his hands on his hips. "I'll bring Jason here when he lands so you have a few hours."

"Are you sure that is wise?" Francis asked, "You know who the other victim would be."

Sonny had moved back to the upright table, this time he hit the memo button on the answering machine.

__

"Hi, you've reached 555-6789 I'm probably ignoring you so leave me a message and I will call you back so you can yell at me."

Elizabeth's voice entered the destroyed studio; the laughter was evident, in her tone.

"Elizabeth." Sonny murmured, "Jason would come here anyway, you need to have some answers for him."

Sonny headed for the door, he needed to get out of here, away from the smell, the violence evident in the room reminded him of his time with Deke. He shook his head to push Deke out of his head, and pulled out his cellphone. "Cal, have you found Spencer yet?"

__

"No. I've checked, Kelly's, Luke's, the Cassadine kid's place, even the Spencer house, no sign of him anywhere." Cal admitted.

"Have you checked the docks around Pier 29, near the Cassadine yacht? He's there a lot." Sonny asked moving down the hall.

__

"I'm on the docks right now."

"Good." Sonny stopped, the memory of another conversation entered his head.

__

~December 3, 1999~

Jason was leaning against the wall of the boxcar, bleeding and shivering in the cold; Bobbie was bending over him, when Sonny drew Elizabeth away.

"Guess I lied to you, huh?" She asked almost fearfully.

Sonny ran his hand through his hair, before focusing on her. "Who else did you mention this to?"

"No one." She shook her head, her eyes darting back to Jason who groaned.

He touched her arm, "You got to tell me because they could be in danger."

"Sonny I went to the hospital, got Bobbie, and came back here, okay? I swear I didn't tell anyone." Elizabeth snapped glaring at him briefly before looking at Jason again.

His eyes widened in surprise, it was the first time she hadn't behaved timidly around him, or acted like she was afraid of him. She was loyal to Jason even when he hadn't been. He blocked that thought. "You got to understand something okay?"

He moved in front of her, shielding Jason from her view so he would have her undivided attention. "You cannot breathe a word of this to anybody. It would not only fix Jason with the cops, but whoever did this could pick up a scent, and they're going too use you to go after him. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

She looked him straight in the eye. "Yes."

His respect grew; she asked no questions, showed no fear. "You can't come back here."

There her strength faltered, her eyes grew cloudy. "That I can't promise you, Lucky used to live here."

"Cal there's an old boxcar about a ¼ mile outside of town, off Fremont. Spencer used to live there." Sonny paused, pinching his nose before continuing. "He's dangerous, but I need him alive, so watch your back."

__

"Yes sir."

He hung up and nodded to Johnny, "Let's go back to the penthouse, I want to check on Emily."

****

~Docks~

Cal tucked the phone in his pocket, turning away from the docks, when something caught his eye. He turned his head and saw Lucky Spencer crawl up on the dock, from below the pier; he was scrambling and kept looking over his shoulder like someone was chasing him.

His hand automatically moved to his gun, the boy looked wild, half-crazed, and covered with blood. When Lucky backed up towards him; he could hear the boy muttering. A brief thought of Luke crossed his mind. He played cards with Luke every week; he hesitated, and then let his hand drop from his gun. "Lucky."

Lucky whirled around. "Who's there?"

"It's Cal, Lucky." He said softly walking slowly towards him, keeping his hands in view, "How are you doing?"

Lucky brought his hands up to his head, his face riddled in confusion. "It's so loud in my head."

"Is it?" he moved forward a few more steps.

"Have you seen Elizabeth?" Lucky asked suddenly, focusing on the other man. "I can hear her but I can't find her."

"Elizabeth?" he repeated, "She's at Kelly's she asked me to find you."

"She is?" Lucky smiled, "Good, I've been worried about her."

"She's been worried about you Lucky. We better go see her." He edged closer.

Lucky nodded shuffling closer. "Of course she's at home. Why didn't I think of that?" He stopped clutching his head again.

__

"Please stop Lucky."

"I didn't mean it." His voice was so weak, that Cal could barely hear it.

"Of course you didn't Lucky, let's go, you don't want to keep her waiting." Cal touched Lucky's arm.

Lucky moved with him then, the whispers in his head had come back. He focused on the bloodstain on his shirt. He looked at Cal, to him Cal appeared to have blood on his hands, "It was you."

"What?" Cal kept his grip on his arm, to propel him forward, "What did I do?"

Lucky's breath was coming in pants, the anger was growing inside of him, and it was this man's fault. He had hurt Elizabeth; he was keeping her from him. He had to find Elizabeth. _"Kill him."_ The voice whispered in his ear. He cocked his head he could almost recognize it. _"Kill him."_

They were walking along Elm Street now heading for the corner; Lucky began edging closer to the street. Cal countered keeping between Lucky and the street, "So she is at Kelly's?"

"Yes, she's waiting there for you."

"Did she get the ribs from BBQ Heaven?" Lucky asked edging closer.

"Yes, she got them." Cal answered, his eyes on his car across the street. Hopefully they could get closer before Lucky realized they weren't going to Kelly's.

Lucky's eyes went blank, they never ate at BBQ Heaven only Eli's. It was true, this man had Elizabeth. The emptiness that was always inside of him, filled with rage, he grew calm, he knew what he had to do. He dropped to his knees, clutching his stomach.

Cal stopped immediately turning back to hover over him. "Lucky are you alright?"

Lucky sprang up into Cal's stomach, propelling him backwards, driving the breath from him when he connected with a car. Lucky grabbed Cal's head and began to slam it into the trunk of the car.

Cal tried to break free but in his madness Lucky had too much strength for him. He struggled for another minute before an explosion of pain entered his head and everything went dark.

"Where is she?" Lucky kept asking the question each time he slammed Cal's head into the trunk, oblivious to the blood seeping into his hands.

There was a loud screaming noise and the sky lit up with fireworks. Lucky stared up at the sky that was now lit in colors, he let the head fall back to the car trunk, he was transfixed by the colors.

__

"You're Lucky, but I'm luckier."

"Elizabeth." Lucky's expression grew dreamy when he heard her voice again. He backed away from the car, and Cal slid from the trunk to the ground. "Where are you?"

He looked down at Cal, "Do you think so?" He bent down, and clutched the man by his jacket; he felt something hard under his hand. He reached inside the jacket and pulled out a gun.

Lucky stared at the colt. "You're right Cal, Mrs. Hardy will know where she is. Thanks." He smiled at the man, before stepping over his body and heading down the street. "I'll find you Elizabeth." He said running his bloody hand over the barrel of the gun, "Trust me I'll find you."

****

~Penthouse~

Sonny let himself inside the darkened guest room, and studied the girl lying on the bed, before moving inside, and sitting in a chair beside the bed. She looked so fragile lying there, so much smaller than normal.

"Is this what you felt?"

Sonny was startled when she spoke. "What do you mean Emily?" He leaned forward and carefully took her hand.

"When you let Jason down, is this what you felt like?" Her voice was weak, her eyes barely open, but her grip on his hand was strong.

"You didn't let him down baby, you could never let him down." He whispered, "You need to rest, he'll be here soon."

"You're wrong Sonny I did let him down." She shook her head; her mind kept replaying a conversation over and over in her head.

__

~April 3, 2001~

"Elizabeth gets to choose what she wants. I may not agree." Jason shook his head, "Look she's been a good friend to you, don't let it come between you."

Emily groaned, "I know, I just," She shook her head, "I just need, you know to pull back a little bit and cool off…"

He leaned closer interrupting her. "No, no, you need to stay close, especially now. Elizabeth needs someone to keep an eye on her."

She stared at him in surprise, "Why?"

He paused, and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. "Lucky. There's something, I don't know, something's going on. Whatever he's telling people, whatever they believe, there's something more. She has no idea what he is capable of."

"He saw, what I couldn't see, he asked me for one thing, and I couldn't do it." Emily moved on the bed, and moaned in pain. "I don't know how to face him."

Sonny crouched beside the bed, "Emily listen to me, you did nothing wrong. Jason knows that, he is not mad at you."

She shook her head.

"Can you tell me what happened?" He asked quietly.

She shuddered, "I have to tell Jason first." She looked at Sonny, "You know he's in love with her. I saw it and ignored it, but he is."

"I know." He whispered back.

"And now she's gone, and he's alone again." Her eyes locked on his "Next to Lila, he's the best person, that I have ever met, and he's always the one left alone. Why is that Sonny?"

"I don't know," he gripped her hand, "We're going to help him. He won't be alone during this."

"Yes he will," she whispered her voice going soft, sleep claiming her again, "He always takes care of us, she was the only one he ever let take care of him."

He sat in the chair long after she fell asleep, she was right. The only person Jason had let near him when he was hurt was Elizabeth.

Johnny opened the door slightly, "It's time to go to the airport."

Sonny nodded and moved her hand back to the bed. "We will help him Emily, I promise."

****

~Hardy House~

Lucky stared up at the window of her darkened room. How many times had he climbed the tree to her room? How many times had he slept on her floor? She had to be here. He tucked the gun in the waistband of his jeans, gripped the tree and began to climb.

****

~Airport~

Sonny and Johnny watched the plane taxi into position. "Johnny."

"Yes?"

"Next to Jason I trust you the most. You're the best person I have." Sonny looked at him. "I need you to do something for me."

"Anything sir." Johnny agreed at once.

Sonny smiled mirthlessly, "Wait until you hear it. I need you to stay with Jason every step of the way. I don't want him alone through any of this, when I can't be there, and even when I can, you're there too."

"Okay."

Sonny studied him, "He won't make it easy, and it's not what you're used to, but I need you to help him, I need you to keep him ali…"

"I will." Johnny promised.

"Good." Sonny focused on the door of the plane that opened slowly. His breath caught in his throat when he saw Jason in the door.


	5. Lucky isn't a threat

****

Notes: Referring once again to the notes on the prologue. And begging for replies. I know I'm a reply slut. Sue me. But you can't sue me for copyright infringement.

****

Her Greatest Mistake

Chapter 4

****

~Airport~

Sonny caught his breath when Jason appeared in the door of the plane, Enrique was right, Jason didn't look well. He knew that Jason had always been accused of being cold, unfeeling, a robot, but he wasn't. Now though, when he watched Jason move slowly towards him, he did look empty. His face was set, his eyes cold, the mask of aloofness he always wore, had been replaced, by a stone expression. The expression was one he wore when he had to do the worse things that Sonny ever asked of him, and Sonny wondered if it would ever come off.

"What happened?" Jason asked when he reached them.

Even his voice was cold, like all the emotion and feeling had been ripped out to him. Sonny cleared his throat. "I'll tell you on the way." He jerked his head to the waiting limousine.

Jason headed for the limousine only to stop when Johnny put his hand on his arm. Jason looked down at the hand then back up at Johnny.

Johnny dropped his hand quickly, meeting those icy blue eyes. "You're bleeding." He gestured to Jason's hand, and the blood dripping on the asphalt.

Sonny moved closer. "What happened Jason?"

Jason turned his hand over, displaying a piece of glass still embedded in his palm, he looked at his hand and then shrugged. "The bottle broke." He pulled the glass from his palm, dropping it to the ground, before moving towards the car.

Johnny stepped in front of him, pulling a handkerchief out and shoving it in Jason's hand. "Wrap it."

Jason looked at him coldly, making no move to do what he was told.

Sonny kept quiet, he needed to know if Johnny could get through to Jason. This would be the first test.

"I said wrap it." Johnny ordered. "We have a lot to do without you bleeding all over everything in the process. This will work for now, I'll bandage it later." He turned around opening the door to the limo. "Do it."

Without a word Jason wrapped his hand and climbed in the limo.

Sonny paused by the door. "Sit back here with us." He said after a minute.

Johnny took a deep breath before getting in the car after them.

****

~Hardy House~

Lucky eased the window up, and crawled inside the room, trying to be quiet. He didn't want to wake her. Ever since the rape Elizabeth had trouble sleeping. That was why he snuck out of his house and came over here to watch over her while she slept. Normally he sat outside the window, but it was cold outside tonight. Lucky turned to lean back out the window. "Go home Foster." He called to the dog that wasn't there.

Satisfied he shut the window, before making his way over to the bed. She hadn't moved, so that was good, maybe she would sleep through the night without any dreams. Lucky sat down leaning back against the bed, if not he was here for her. He squinted in the dark trying to make out the posters that lined her closet. When he heard her moan behind him, he shifted immediately to take her hand in his. "It's okay you're safe Elizabeth."

__

"Every time I close my eyes, I'm back in the park, and he's grabbing me, he's hurting me, he has me on the ground crushing me. I don't want to close my eyes, I don't want to see those stars again."

"It's okay Elizabeth." Lucky tried to calm her, her voice was loud in his head. "I will never, never let anyone hurt you again." He reached up to stroke her hair.

__

"Please don't hurt me anymore Lucky, please."

He jerked back, the gun slipped unnoticed from his waist when he stood, falling to the floor and making no noise because of the thick carpeting. He shook his head, the pain was back in his head, the noise kept getting louder and louder in his ears. His breath was coming out in quick jerky pants. "I didn't hurt you Elizabeth." He yelled.

He reached up to touch her hair again, only to stop in confusion when he felt it. It felt so different, not soft like it was supposed to. His hand tightened on it and he pulled at it slightly, yelping in surprise when it came off the bed.

Light blazed in the room causing him to blink in surprise. "Lucky is that you?"

Lucky turned to focus on Audrey Hardy, who had walked in the room to look at him. He turned back to the bed, what he thought was her hair was really yarn. The hand he thought he was holding was a swatch of material. Elizabeth was gone.

"Lucky?" Audrey repeated.

In a daze Lucky looked around the room, there were no posters on the wall. Elizabeth's vanity was gone too, in its place stood a dressing mannequin with a half finished dress on it. All traces of Elizabeth had been removed. Panic began to set in, and he searched the room looking for her. "Where is she?" The words slipped out, when his eyes finally came to rest on Audrey again.

Audrey had started towards Lucky when his appearance stopped her, it looked like he was covered in blood. She watched him bring a hand to his face gripping it, like he was in pain. When he dropped it again, a smear of blood was on his forehead. "Lucky are you hurt?" She took another step. "Is Elizabeth hurt?"

"Hurt?" Lucky repeated the voices in his head were back. "I didn't hurt her." He yelled moving around the room.

She jerked to a halt, suddenly feeling afraid of Lucky.

He paused at the mannequin. "I told you I didn't hurt her." He yelled at it before shoving it to the ground.

She began to back out of the room, keeping her eyes on him. She had almost reached the doorway when Lucky stopped pacing and focused on her. She sucked in a breath to keep from screaming when she saw the madness in his eyes. Oh God please be okay Elizabeth.

"Where is Elizabeth?" He asked advancing on the older woman. "I know she was here. Where did you take her?"

****

~Limo~

"What happened?" Jason asked again.

"Kellys." Sonny told the driver before raising the privacy window.

He caught Johnny's look of surprise and shook his head.

"We came back from dinner and found Emily waiting there, she was…" He stopped to study his friend. "She is hurt."

"How bad?"

"Doc examined her, she has a broken rib, a concussion, and she needed some stitches, nothing that won't heal." Sonny said in reassurance. But what she had lived through tonight would never fade.

He waited for Jason to speak, when it became obvious he wasn't going to, he went on. "She wanted to talk to you. She was adamant about it. When she told you what happened, that's when I found out too."

"Where is she?"

"The penthouse, she's waiting for you."

Jason nodded his face giving nothing of his feelings away. "What have you done?"

"I have Cal looking for Spencer, so far he hasn't found him." Sonny glanced at his watch, Cal should have checked in by now.

"And?"

"Francis, Johnny, and I checked her studio." He took a deep breath remembering the destruction they had found there. He felt Jason's eyes on him and forced himself to continue. "Emily was right it was destroyed."

"But it was empty." Jason stated.

Sonny looked at him in surprise. "Yes it was."

Jason nodded. "So Francis is still there trying to figure out what happened?"

Sonny was struck again by the calmness in Jason's voice. "We'll go there later. I figured you would want to see her room."

Jason glanced briefly at Sonny. "Yes."

"We should have over an hour to do so before anyone wakes up there. It's the Fourth of July, the beginning of a long holiday weekend, so it'll be easy to check the studio unnoticed later on." Sonny finished his concern for Jason was growing by the minute.

"Are you okay Jason?" Sonny asked finally.

"I'm fine." Jason looked out the window. "I'll find her and everything will be fine." He turned to look at Sonny. "After all Lucky isn't a threat."

Sonny flinched at hearing his own words tossed back at him with such coldness. He turned away unable to meet the empty look in his best friend's eyes. His dismissal of Jason's concerns had helped lead them here. He didn't think Jason would ever forgive him. If she was dead, he knew he would never forgive himself.

****

~Hardy House~

"Lucky I haven't seen Elizabeth." Audrey said quietly stilling her movements. His eyes reminded her of her ex-husband. They got like that right before he would get violent. Even though it had been decades she remembered what to do. She didn't move even though every cell inside of her was screaming at her to run. She kept her eyes on him bracing herself for anything.

"You're lying. She was here. She was having a nightmare." Lucky shouted coming to a stop a foot away from her. "I was holding her hand and then you came." He paused to clutch his head again. "You made her leave."

"Perhaps she's downstairs Lucky." She offered quietly keeping her voice low and calm. "Would you like me to check?" She clasped her hands in front of her, to show she wasn't a threat to him.

"Downstairs?" He repeated in confusion. The voices were getting louder and louder in his head. His eyes took on a far off look as a memory forced itself on him.

__

~April 19, 2001~

"What happened with you and Jason when I was gone?" Lucky demanded he felt sick to his stomach even saying the words.

"Lucky neither one of us meant for anything…"

"Did you sleep with him?" He interrupted appalled, his fists clenched in anger.

"No." Elizabeth shook her head. "I already told you that, no. Jason…" She paused. "He has feelings for me…"

"Yeah it's pretty obvious." He clutched a paintbrush in his hand. But she was his not Jason's. Jason could never come between them because they were permanent.

"And the thing is, I've realized I feel something for him too."

Audrey noticed his preoccupation and started edging her way back to the door. She needed to get away. She had to find Elizabeth.

"That's a lie." Lucky snapped blocking her words from his head. "We're permanent Elizabeth." He looked at Audrey who had made it to the doorway. "You're working with him to keep me from her."

Audrey stopped. "With who?"

"Jason." He yelled advancing on her. "You're trying to keep her and me apart, so she'll be with Jason."

"That's not true Lucky." His name came out on a cry when he began to shake her by the shoulders.

"Then where is she?" Lucky demanded. "If you're not helping Jason tell me where she is."

__

"I never stopped caring for Jason."

Her voice again made Lucky stop. "That's not true."

__

"I never stopped caring for Ja…"

"Shut up." Lucky shoved Audrey away from him turning to face Elizabeth who stood in front of him in her red shirt with gray sleeves, her face serious and calm.

Audrey fell backwards, crashing headfirst into the wall. Pain exploded in her head making her dizzy. She kept her feet, taking a step away from Lucky, with each step she took, the blackness receded and her fear grew. She waited for him to stop her, she could hear him speaking to someone in the empty room behind her. She heard him yell Elizabeth's name at the same time she turned the corner of the hall and found the stairs.

"Elizabeth." Lucky yelled. "You don't mean that." He advanced on her, his hand fisting, he gave a yell of surprise when she disappeared. "Elizabeth." He yelled again looking around the empty room.

Audrey stumbled and fell heavily into the wall, when she was struck by a brief feeling of vertigo.

His eyes fell on the gun, he bent over, picked it up, and headed for the door he heard the thump down the hall and turned in the direction of the stairs.

Audrey heard him coming and propelled herself faster down them, jumping the last few. She hurried to the front door. Her hand was on the handle, the other on the dead bolt, when she heard the click of a bullet being chambered behind her. Her bones seemed to liquefy in fear, she turned to face Lucky and the gun that was pointed at her head. "Lucky you don't want to do this."

Lucky looked at Jason, he hated that condescending look Jason had on his face. He always pretended to be better than everyone else. "I told you Jason she's mine. She belongs to me."

"I'm not Jason." Audrey said shakily.

__

"You don't own people Lucky." Jason told him with a smile. "Elizabeth is her own person."

"No." Lucky screamed the hand holding the gun started to shake.

Audrey held her breath, her eyes trained on the gun, it dropped so it wasn't pointed at her head anymore, it was now pointed at her chest.

"You say that Jason, you're just trying to make yourself look good." Lucky said. "But I see through you. Elizabeth doesn't want you."

__

"Then why does she come to me?" Jason asked leaning against the door. "Why does she lie to you, leave you alone, and always come to me?"

"Lucky please put the gun down." Audrey said softly.

"She doesn't. You made her help you, you made her lie…"

__

"No one makes Elizabeth do anything." Jason grinned at him. "Come on we lived together for awhile, you haven't managed that yet have you?"

"No. She told me she was just helping you when you were shot." Lucky argued desperately lowering the gun, trying to clear his head so he could concentrate.

Audrey's hands were behind her, she had freed the deadbolt and twisted the door handle opening the door. Lucky wasn't looking at her, she shifted slightly to the left opening the door wider.

__

"Is that what she told you?" Jason taunted. "Sort of like when she told you she didn't come to me after the Deception shoot," he laughed. "She's a good little liar isn't she?"

Audrey turned slowly the door was almost open far enough to slip through. She could see the porch light on at her neighbor Mrs. Powell's house, safety was in reach she just had to move slow.

__

"You didn't really think you were the first did you?" Jason asked. "How many times did you ask if we slept together? You never believed her. Why should you?"

Lucky raised the gun again. "You shut up, she's mine." He waved the gun at Jason. "She's only been with me."

__

"All those nights you thought it was you she was touching, you she wanted." Jason leaned closer to Lucky. "Don't you know when she closed her eyes she was seeing me?" He laughed again.

Audrey stepped on the porch, freedom at hand. The porch light came on automatically, triggered by her presence.

The light struck Lucky's eyes the same time Jason's laughter rang in his ears. "She's mine." He screamed bringing up the gun firing it at Jason. Jason continued to laugh, so he fired again. The laugh was cut off and Jason fell to the ground.

Lucky began to laugh in relief Jason was dead. He moved over to the body he wanted to shoot him one more time. He looked down at the blond in the pink robe, a robe that was rapidly being stained by blood. Jason didn't wear pink. He bent down, his hand shook, when he reached out to brush the hair away from the face. "Mrs. Hardy." He choked out, peering at the unconscious and bleeding woman before him, in shock. "Who?' He clutched his head. An image of Jason entered his head again.

"Jason did this to you." Lucky said lurching to his feet. "Don't worry Mrs. Hardy, I'll find him, I'll kill him, I'll bring her back."

He could still hear the echo of Jason's laughter ringing in his ears. He stepped off the porch and into the night leaving Audrey laying half in and half out of her door.

****

~Kellys~

Johnny picked the lock easily, opening the door before letting Jason and Sonny precede him inside. The limo had been quiet, Jason's words were the last words spoken. He had watched Sonny react to them like Jason had hit him. Sonny was quiet and brooding. Normally when he got like this Jason was the only one who could pull him out of it. Johnny looked at Jason, a wall of ice surrounded him, and this time it looked like Sonny was on his own.

He closed the door quietly, before following the others to the stairs, his eyes automatically scanning the room. He caught a flicker of movement coming from the kitchen, one hand reached out to stop Sonny, the other went for his gun.

Jason already had his gun drawn, he'd automatically shifted so he was in front of Sonny. Shielding him from whatever was in the kitchen.

Johnny moved up beside Jason pointing his gun at the opening over the counter, while Jason's was pointed at the door. He sighed in relief when Tammy walked out of the kitchen, a baseball bat held aloft in her hands.

"Jesus Christ." Tammy cried lowering the bat when she recognized them. Her blonde curly hair was wild and streamed past her shoulders. "What the hell are you doing?"

Johnny shouldered his gun, resting his hand on Jason's arm for a second to propel him to do the same. Shaking the hand off Jason tucked his gun away.

Sonny stepped around them, crossing to Tammy. "I'm sorry if we scared you, we didn't want to wake anybody."

"That's okay." Tammy said catching her breath. "I heard someone down here earlier, so it's been an edgy night." She looked at their serious faces. "What do you need?"

Sonny smiled slightly. Tammy was loyal, smart and would keep her mouth shut. "We need to check out some of your rooms upstairs."

She sighed her eyes drawn to Jason again. "Whose?" She had a feeling she knew.

"Elizabeth and Lucky's." Sonny said.

"Sonny I don't know." She began.

"Tammy." Sonny took her hand. "I don't want to put you in a bad spot, but something might have happened to Elizabeth, we need to check to be sure."

"What happened?" Tammy demanded.

"We don't know." Sonny sighed wondering how much to tell her. In the end he decided to tell her as much of the truth he could. She lived here too, if Emily was right she needed to be warned. "Emily told us that Lucky hurt Elizabeth tonight."

"Lucky?" Tammy repeated. "He wouldn…" Her voice trailed off images, flashes of the last several months went through her head. She pulled her hand out of Sonny's hold, placing it on her hip. "How bad?" She asked dully.

She didn't seem surprised and that worried Sonny. "We don't know. That's why we're here now." He rubbed his chin. "We need to search now before the police get involved, if they get involved."

She nodded, taking a deep breath, before stepping behind the counter to retrieve her keys, and leading the way up the stairs. "Since Emily moved home it's just been the three of us." She led the way down the hall. "About 6 weeks ago Elizabeth asked me if she could move to the biggest room." She turned to look at them. "It was the only one with a private bath so I agreed."

She put the key in the lock. "Lucky stayed in his old room." She pointed to a door halfway down the hall. "I'm at the far end." She unlocked the door but made no move to open it. "His key is here too. Don will be here in an hour to start baking." She moved away stopping in front of Jason. "No matter what you find her Jason." She ordered. "You find her and help her."

Jason met her stare without blinking. "I will."

She searched his eyes, seemingly convinced she nodded and went down the hall to her own room.

Sonny turned to Johnny and nodded. Johnny pulled out some latex gloves he had brought with him, he handed them to the others before pulling his on and opening the door. He stepped in the room, flicking on the light, his eyes scanning the room, for any sign of danger. He moved further inside allowing the others to follow.

Sonny glanced around the cheerful room. It reminded him of Elizabeth, it was friendly, open, and warm like her. He closed his eyes catching a whiff of potpourri that was on the dresser. The room was neat but not obsessively so. Her apron was on the bed, the clothes she had obviously been wearing to work in beside them. Her bed was made.

He looked around noticing the paintings on the wall. He always knew she painted. The one time he had been in her studio he had been too preoccupied to pay attention to her work. But he could see it now she was good. No, he corrected himself, she is good. He moved further into her room, heading towards the window as Johnny emerged from the bathroom and shook his head slightly.

Jason filled the doorway, but didn't come in, his eyes racing around the room refusing to, or unable to stop anywhere for long. "Any sign of her?" He asked roughly.

"No."

Sonny moved closer to the bathroom door, his expression changed, while he chased a memory.

"What are you thinking?" Jason asked, finally moving inside shutting the door behind him.

"This used to be Hannah's room." Sonny came to a stop in front of the open bathroom door.

"And?"

Sonny moved inside the small bathroom and reached up to touch the bolt that was on the inside of the door. "This wasn't on here then."

Johnny turned back watching Sonny test the bolt before moving to the doorjamb to look at the other part of the lock.

"What do you see?" Jason asked remaining on the far side of the room.

Sonny took a step back, allowing Johnny to study both sides of the door and the doorjamb. Johnny looked at Sonny finally and nodded his agreement.

"The lock is new, and it wasn't put on by a professional." Johnny said finally, turning to look at Jason. "There's wear on it though, the wood is beginning to splinter in the doorjamb, the bolt is beginning to warp." He swallowed hard. "It looks like someone spent a lot of time trying to get the door open when someone else had locked it from the inside."

Jason remained quiet. He showed no reaction to the words, words that seemed to mean that tonight's violence wasn't an isolated incident.

"Of course we don't know how long this bolt has been on here." Johnny said to fill the void. "It could have been there when she moved in."

Sonny's eyes fell on the closet. God he hated closets. Deke would lock him in them when he was bruised and beaten, sometimes for hours, other times for days. He walked towards it slowly and opened it. His eyes latched on another bolt lock on the door.

This closet was designed to lock people out not in. Sonny swallowed hard, he knew without a doubt, what had been going on in this room, who had bought these locks in a vain hope for self-protection.

Jason moved closer, his eyes on the lock too. Sonny squatted down, to look inside. "Oh Christ."

"What?" Johnny asked. He couldn't help but remember the last closet, and the cat with the missing head. It was true this one didn't smell, but it was also air conditioned here.

Jason came up behind him, watching Sonny reach inside the closet and pull out a blanket, a flashlight, and a knife.

Sonny looked up at Jason. "She made a hide."

"What?" Jason asked softly, the first flicker of emotion rippled over his face.

"A hide." Sonny explained. He had made one when he was 8 in an old cupboard in the hall. It had been a safe place to hide, away from Deke's temper. That was before Deke had begun to lock him in the closet as punishment. "It's a place to hide, when…" He couldn't say it, even now he couldn't bring himself to say the words.

"When Lucky would attack her." Jason finished the thought. He turned away from the door. Saying the words aloud was like a catalyst and it destroyed the protective numbness that he had been living in. Fear and anger were beginning to make its way through the coldness, forcing him back to his feelings.

He moved towards the dresser, he didn't want to feel. He had come close to losing it on the plane, the only reason he hadn't was because he broke the bottle and several other things on board, until he was finally able to block everything out and go numb.

He caught sight of a slight sliver of red that peeked out from under a scarf on the dresser. He moved the scarf exposing a shard of red glass. He sucked in a hard breath, there was no reason to think it was the same glass. Even though the color was the same vivid red. It was a smaller piece broken and jagged. He picked it up and it was lost in his hand. The red of the glass matched the red that had seeped through the handkerchief on his hand.

__

~February 13, 2001~

Jason dug in his pocket, he had wanted to give this to her and now was the perfect opportunity. "When I went to Italy, I saw these glass blowers, and they made all kinds of stuff." He grimaced. "Some of it was pretty junky, lots of gold and paint all over it." He smiled when he saw her wrinkle her nose. He pulled out the piece of red glass. "But the color of the glass was so intense, I brought back a piece to remind me." He took her hand placing the glass on her palm. "Look, it's kind of like a stained glass window at a church."

Her eyes seemed to glow, and she traced the glass with her finger. That was the reason he had bought it, it was so vibrant, so alive, so beautiful, it reminded him of her.

"What an incredible red."

"Happy Valentines Day." Jason said softly smiling at her.

She smiled at him for a second before her eyes changed. "Jason you keep this, it's important to you."

Jason closed her hand over the glass. "It's not a ruby." He held on to her hand. "It's a hunk of glass take it."

Her eyes lit. "Thank you it's beautiful." She moved to the window to hold it up to the light.

He came up behind her. His hand covered hers moving the glass a little higher. "There you kind of…" He put his other hand on her shoulder. "You really need to take it outside to see the light coming through." He looked down at her face. "And I'd go with you if I could."

She looked up at him smiling at him briefly before focusing on the glass again. She leaned back so she was resting against him slightly, and he tensed in response.

"It's perfect here."

He remembered her hands they were so small, she was so small. Small enough to hide in a bathroom, in a closet. His breathing started to become erratic, he could smell her around him.

"Jason?"

His hand tightened convulsively on the glass. Had she called for him? When she cowered in the dark. When her body was full of pain had she wanted him? There was a snapping sound, Jason thought it was his heart shattering.

Sonny was beside him, forcing Jason's hand open. The shard of glass had broken again, fresh blood mixed with the glass, so you couldn't tell the difference between the two. He looked up from his hand into Sonny's worried eyes. "Why did I give her something that looks like blood?"


	6. Luck Be A Lady Tonight

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Author's Notes: Remember to read the notes on the Prologue it will explain the timing and other details of this fic. But a quick reminder. If the flashback has a specific date to it, it's from the show. If it just has a month and a year it's my creation. Also anything after April 20, 2001 is also my creation.

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Distribution: Ask first I will more then likely say yes.

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Begging: I hate to do this, but if you want more of this story you need to let me know what you think. Thank you so much for all the replies I've received so far, they really make the writing process go faster.

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Her Greatest Mistake

Chapter 5

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~Elm Street~

Mike Corbin was whistling. He'd had a string of luck the likes of which he hadn't seen in years. He glanced at his watch, 4:30 a.m. He'd been playing cards for 12 hours and could have easily gone another 12. He'd walked to the table with $50 to his name and had gotten as low as $5 but right now he had $5,500 in his pocket.

"Luck be a lady tonight." He sang off key this time his luck would hold. One of the guys at the table had given him a sure thing on the #5 horse in the 5th race in the morning, everything was coming up roses for him. It was destiny, he wasn't going to bet it all, but enough that he would be flush for a long time to come. Once that happened he would get Tammy that necklace he knew she wanted and then, he could finally approach Sonny again. This time the gift he would buy him, would be from his own money and not a loan shark.

He jogged across the street towards the docks, to take the shortcut to his apartment on Courtland Street. A few more nights like tonight and he would be able to get new digs. Yes his luck was finally changing, and this time Sonny would have to be proud. He was so busy envisioning the proud look on Sonny's face that he went flying to the ground when he tripped over something hard and unyielding on the pavement.

He turned back to see what had tripped him. "Jesus." Mike studied the unconscious man, he was lying partially on his side, face down on the pavement. In the dim streetlight, the blood that was on the back of the man's blonde head gave off the illusion of being green. He crawled back beside the man to check for a pulse. He sighed in relief when he finally found it, it was weak but it was there. "Hold on buddy, I'm going to get you some help."

He patted the man's pockets hoping to find a phone, he did and called 911.

__

"911. What is the nature of your emergency?"

"I need an ambulance, I just found a man he's unconscious, and bleeding from the back of the head, his pulse is real weak too."

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"Where are you sir?"

Mike looked around. "I'm on Elm near the Charles cross street, just off the dock exit." He was beginning to feel sick, the beer he had consumed during the card game was coming back to haunt him. "Hurry."

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"Sir can you tell where he is bleeding from? If so can you apply some pressure around the room to try to stop the bleeding?"

"I'll check." He propped the phone between his head and shoulder, swallowed his distaste, and touched the man's head. He could feel the deformation of the skull, and knew that wasn't good. At his touch the man slumped farther down on the ground, his head now resting on his side exposing his face.

Mike swallowed hard when he recognized the man, it was Cal one of Sonny's guards. He was in Luke's every week playing cards. He looked around belatedly checking for other victims or sign of violence, fear of seeing Sonny lying on the ground coursed through him. But Cal was the only person there. "Please be alone Cal."

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"What did you say sir? Do you know the victim? Could you tell me your name please?"

"My name is Mike, Mike Corbin." He hesitated. "It's hard to say if I know him, there's blood on his face." He heard the faint sounds of sirens drawing nearer. He wasn't going to say anything more until he talked to Sonny. A thought crossed his mind while he hung up on the operator. He checked Cal's pockets again, easing back the jacket to display the empty holster. His gun was missing.

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~Kellys~

"Come on Jason sit down." Sonny ordered pulling Jason over to the bed. He was unnerved by Jason's question and the desperate look he could see in his eyes.

Jason obeyed mutely, his eyes still on the red glass in his hand. It didn't look vibrant or vivid anymore, now it looked broken, broken and dull.

"Johnny find something to bandage his hand with, a washcloth something." Sonny ordered, pulling the clear glove off of Jason's hand, pulling the glass with it.

"Okay." Johnny disappeared into the bathroom.

"I thought she'd like it. It was so bright and full of life like her." Jason mumbled. "She always hated the color red, ever since that night." He looked up at Sonny. "I tried to show her that the color red could be beautiful too, not just violent."

Sonny didn't understand what Jason was trying to tell him, but he tried to comfort him anyway. "I bet she loved it."

He nodded. "She did." He looked back at his hand. "But she was right nothing good ever comes from red."

Johnny walked out of the bathroom with a large, flat First Aid box. "I knew she had this, I just had to find it." He told them, setting the box on the bed by Jason.

Sonny backed off a step. "How did you know?"

"I saw her at Surman's Drug Store a little over a week ago she was buying this." Johnny explained.

"How did she look?" Jason demanded focusing on Johnny.

"She looked fine." Johnny paused trying to remember, he'd had a headache, and so he really wasn't paying that much attention. "I looked up and…"

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"Ms. Webber how are you?" Johnny asked recognizing the petite brunette who had paused next to him.

Elizabeth jolted slightly before smiling. "Hello Johnny."

"Headache," he held up the bottle of Advil. "And you?"

"I need a First Aid kit."

"Are you hurt?" He asked in concern.

"No." She shook her head immediately. "But you never know when you might need one." She bent down and pulled a large box off the bottom shelf.

He took the box from her when he heard a soft groan. "Here let me. Is this all you need?"

"Yes thank you." She headed for the check out grabbing a few extra rolls of bandages as she passed them.

"Why are you walking so strange? Are you sure you're okay?" He couldn't help but notice how stiff and awkward her movements were.

She stuttered a step but kept her back to him. "Well now that you've noticed I guess I'll have to let you in on my secret." She said placing the bandages on the counter. "I'm a terrible klutz. I fell rollerblading." She took the box from him and put it on the belt. "Now you know why I need the biggest First Aid kit I can find."

"Elizabeth are you ready?" Lucky asked appearing at her side.

"Yes." She said immediately dropping some bills on the counter. "Thanks for your help."

"Sure." Johnny nodded absently, his focus was on the sports magazine that was by the counter. "Don't worry your secret is safe with me." He called after her with a smile.

"I didn't really think much about it then, but when I said that to her, she went real pale and looked at Lucky. They practically ran out of the store." Johnny said in reflection. "She never looked me in the eye, and as soon as Lucky appeared her movements got jittery like she was real nervous."

The room was quiet for a minute while they digested Johnny's words.

"She lied." Jason said suddenly. "She's not clumsy, not when it comes to skates."

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~December 1999~

"I tell you Jason Quartermaine sounds like the perfect match for my sister Sarah." Elizabeth said shaking her head, sending her ponytail flying. "They would have been so sweet together they'd keep a dentist busy for years."

Jason smirked. "You're one of the few, that I've talked to Jason Quartermaine about that thinks that way."

"Well I have to admit I understand A.J. a lot better now." She told him bending slightly to touch up a spot on the canvas she was painting.

He shifted on the couch slowly, his wound was throbbing again, a gift from his unnecessary trip outside thanks to Carly, and his scuffle with Nikolas. "You're much better than A.J. you don't wallow in self pity."

She laughed. "That's because you know me now. You wouldn't have said that if you knew me a couple of years ago. I could do nothing right." She sighed loudly. "To my family I guess I still can't, but back then it bothered me a lot more. No matter what I said or did, it was never good enough to compete with the rest of the Webbers especially Sarah."

"Come on there must be something you did better than your sister." He found it hard to believe that her parents could be disappointed in her. Then he thought about the Quartermaines and the abuse and pressure they put on one another. Maybe all families were like that. He briefly let himself think of Michael growing up in that environment, before cutting it off. It hurt too much to think of Michael.

Elizabeth had gone back to her painting and he thought she wasn't going to answer him. He was sorry he brought up a bad memory for her. He watched her work, she had gotten used to him, now when he watched her work it never bothered her. It was either that or the fact that he could never quite figure out what she was doing without help, so she didn't care if he watched.

"There was one thing I could do better than Sarah, better than Steve, heck better than most people I know." She said suddenly.

"What paint?"

"No Sarah never even tried to paint." She turned to face him. "I can skate."

"Skate?" He repeated. "What like roller skate or what do they call it, roller blade?"

"Yes that too, but first and foremost it was ice skating." Her eyes seemed to light up while she talked. "Sarah had been taking lessons, and Steven played in an ice hockey league, and I finally got to go too." She paused. "I didn't want to go at first, but then I got on the ice, and I loved it."

He could tell. "How old were you?"

"Seven. I was a natural, my coach said I had a lot of raw talent. There was nothing I couldn't do on the ice." She moved towards him. "I was doing doubles within a few weeks then on to triples. Figure skating was fun, the jumps were a thrill, but sometimes I would just love to race around the rink. I just loved to fly."

He could see it in her face while she relived the memory, it looked a lot like it did after a ride on his bike. "You were addicted to speed even then."

Elizabeth laughed. "I guess so. Anyway I kept getting better and better, and Sarah never did. Eventually she quit taking lessons altogether, of course she said she wanted to focus on cheerleading, but I knew it bugged her that for once, I excelled and she didn't." She smiled wickedly. "My rubbing it in all the time probably didn't help either."

Jason laughed.

"I was at the rink every minute I could be. I felt so free when I was on the ice, so in control, at least out there I was good enough." She sat on the back of the sofa. "Off the ice I would roller blade everywhere, just to keep practicing. I started entering local competitions and I started to win them."

"Until?" He asked, he could tell something had happened.

Her brown eyes seemed to fill with pain for a minute before she went on. "My coach was pushing me to increase my training, he thought I was good enough, that with more coaching I could compete nationally, maybe even the Olympics one day. I remember I raced home after he told me that to tell my parents. I just knew that this would make them proud of me."

She shrugged. "I guess I should've known better. They said no, that my coach was just trying to get more money out of them, and that I wasn't really that good." A tear slipped unnoticed down her cheek. "My grades, which were never that great had slipped, so they were going to cancel my lessons anyway."

Jason reached up and took her hand to offer her comfort.

"Back then, I still thought I could change their minds, so I worked hard. I paid for my lessons with my savings, I haunted the rink, brought my grades up, anything to try to get them to change their minds." She focused on him. "But it didn't work. So eventually I quit trying, I stopped begging and pleading, I stopped caring. Instead I started rebelling. I figured since I couldn't get what I wanted as a reward, maybe if I was bad enough they would give in. So I started smoking, cutting class, staying out late, anything to make them mad."

She got up from the couch and moved to the window. "It probably wouldn't have worked, but before I could find out, the Bosnia trip came up. I was left in Colorado and eventually I made my way here." She turned back smiling slightly. "You know that solid wood border that rings the docks on the water side?" He nodded. "I was planning on shooting that one day on blades."

"Did you?" That sounded like something he would have done.

"No." She answered softly.

"Why not?"

"Valentines Day happened, then Lucky became my world, and I guess I lost my nerve." She shrugged, before going on wistfully. "I don't skate anymore."

"Maybe you should." He said after a minute.

"Maybe." She moved back to the sofa. "But you'll have to go ice skating with me."

"No." Jason said quickly.

She laughed. "Yes you will. Don't worry I'll catch you if you fall." She teased. "We wouldn't want to damage your 'I can handle anything' reputation."

"No." He repeated firmly. "I am not going skating. But I will watch you fly."

"Oh you'll go Jason." She leaned over the edge of the sofa towards him, her eyes glinting in an amused warning. "Remember I'm a brat who likes to get her way."

"Jason?" Sonny touched his shoulder. He had zoned out on them for a minute. "What did you mean?"

"She was an ice skater. She wasn't a klutz." He said slowly still caught up in the memory, if he had stayed around she probably would have got him on the ice. "She loved to fly on her skates."

Johnny opened the First Aid kit and swallowed an oath.

Jason heard him anyway and looked down at the opened kit. "I thought you said this was new a week ago,"

"It was." Johnny said softly.

The box had obviously been used a lot in the past week. There were two empty packages of bandages loose in the kit, there was still some gauze left but most of it was already gone, so was the tape that held the bandages in place. The bottle of hydrogen peroxide was almost empty, and the ointment tubes had been rolled up almost to the top. There were traces of blood in the box, as well as some dirty used bandages.

"God Elizabeth." Jason whispered focusing on a bloody fingerprint on the inside of the kit.

****

~Ambulance~

"It's okay Cal." Mike said reassuringly. He had been allowed to ride along in the ambulance. "We're almost at the hospital now and they'll fix you right up."

Cal's body twitched suddenly causing Mike to jolt in surprise. Frank the paramedic who was on the other side immediately went to work checking Cal's blood pressure and pulse again. "Pressures dropping, Steve, you need to step on it, we're losing him."

Cal gurgled on the stretcher his eyes opened, but were glazed over in shock, or pain, a trickle of blood escaped the corner of his mouth.

"Talk to him." Frank ordered Mike. "Let him know he's not alone."

Mike looked at Frank, he could read the truth in the other man's eyes, and it didn't look good. He shifted closer and took Cal's unresponsive hand in his. "You're going to be fine, you'll be back at Luke's trying to draw to inside straight again before you know it."

Cal's grip suddenly tightened on Mike's hand. He took a labored breath that sounded raspy to Mike. "Spencer." He spit out finally.

"That's right Luke's." Mike told him. The beeping of the heart monitor was beginning to slow and that worried him.

"No." Cal gasped trying hard to be understood. The pain had receded, in fact he could barely feel it anymore. Everything was numb, and peaceful, he just wanted to close his eyes and drift, but something wouldn't let him. His promise refused to let him go. "Listen."

Blood started to come out of Cal's ears. "Frank do something." Mike ordered.

Frank injected another shot in the I.V. bag, but there was not much more he could do, Cal was slowly hemorrhaging to death, and even emergency surgery might not be enough to save him.

"Listen." Cal's grip tightened on Mike's hand until it turned painful. He gasped out finally, his voice was so low that Mike had to hover over his mouth to hear him. "It…Spencer." His hold on Mike went lax as soon as he spoke.

"Steve he's coding." Frank yelled, while Mike slumped back against his seat.

Mike half watched Frank perform CPR on Cal, trying to bring the man back. Did Cal mean Luke had done this to him? That didn't make any sense Luke had gone out of town weeks ago and no one knew where he was. He shook his head, watching Cal's body jerk in reaction when Frank used the paddles on him trying to get him back.

Cal's eyes were open in the empty look of death, and the heart monitor continued its monotonous squeal, indicating the futility of Frank's efforts.

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~Kelly's~

Johnny taped the last of the bandage and then handed Jason a new glove to protect against fingerprints, he carefully put the refuse in his pocket then moved in the bathroom to put the case back where he found it.

Sonny had been exploring her room, trying not to linger too long on the photos she had on her dresser, photos of her and Emily, Emily and Nikolas, and one of her and Lucky. He couldn't help but look at that one, he could tell right away that it was taken before the fire. Her eyes were glowing like they always had back then.

He remembered the night of the fire when she realized that Lucky wasn't coming out, she seemed to go boneless and he had caught her in his arms. He couldn't remember seeing anyone look that devastated and lost in a very long time. He kept a hold of her, afraid she might try to run in the fire. She had loved Lucky that much. He shook the memory away and opened a jewelry box.

It had a figure skater on the dais, and it played a hauntingly familiar tune that he couldn't place at the moment. He saw a small jewelry bag at the bottom and pulled it out. Curious he opened it and pulled out a wad of tissue paper, he opened the tissue paper. "Why would she wrap a quarter?" Sonny asked turning to hold it out to Jason.

Jason walked over to him to take the quarter. It was dated 1999, so it wasn't like it was valuable or anything, there was no need to take such care to protect it. He started to put it away when the memory caught him.

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~November 5, 1999~

"Hey, oh this is perfect." Elizabeth called with a grin.

"What is?" Jason asked a little cautiously. He'd gotten to know her pretty well in the past couple of months, and he recognized that look, she was up to something.

"Running into you, maybe it's a sign." She explained.

Jason scratched his chin. "Of what?"

"Or maybe it's a sign that you'll give me a sign." He looked at her in confusion and she went on in a rush. "Let me ask you something if there was only one painting of Lucky in the world would it be a painting of him here?" She gestured at the docks. "Or of him playing his guitar?"

"Why can there only be one in the world?" He asked trying to figure out where this was heading.

"Because." She glared at him slightly. "I only have one midterm art project and I talked my professor into letting it be a portrait. You know painting Lucky was the reason I got into the art academy in New York."

"Oh well." It was really important to her then he shoved his hands in his pockets and thought about it. "I don't know. The docks are bigger, but guitars actually look harder to draw."

Her face fell. "That's no help, I need a decision."

"Why from me?" He asked what he thought was a reasonable question.

"Because you're here." She snapped pacing away. "You knew Lucky." She came to a stop again with a groan. "And I'm tired of thinking about it."

"Alright." He pulled out a quarter. "Heads for the docks, tails for the guitar, okay?"

She moved closer a relieved smile on her face. "Okay do it." He flipped the coin in the air, and she grabbed it before he could catch it. "Guitar."

He snorted. "I'm glad I could be so helpful."

"You were." She told him touching his arm briefly. "Thank you."

He shook his head smiling down at her.

"You can think its funny all you want." She bent down and picked up her bag. "But you did help. I didn't know what I wanted until there was a chance that I might have to do something else. So thank you." She smiled again and began to walk away.

"Wait." He called after her, putting a stern expression on his face. "Hold on what about my quarter?"

Elizabeth turned her smile wider than he'd ever seen it. She held up the quarter in her gloved hand. "This isn't a quarter." She shook her head. "It's a good luck charm, and I'm keeping it."

Jason shook his head and watched her walk away. She always managed to make him smile even when she wasn't trying too.

It couldn't be the same quarter, there was no real reason for her to keep it. _"It's a good luck charm and I'm keeping it."_ He carefully wrapped the quarter and put it back where Sonny had found it. He glanced around her room, what other surprises would trigger his memory, and how many memories could he handle?

****

~Jake's~

Lucky dug in his pocket for his lock picks, but he didn't have them with him. He looked around, he didn't see Jason's motorcycle but that didn't mean he wasn't there, he had to get inside. He moved back and looked at the window, he could break it. He glanced back to the street, the bar was close enough to the road that someone might see the broken window and call the cops. He didn't want the cops here, he wanted Jason all to himself, it was the only way he would be able to find Elizabeth. He moved around the side of the bar to the back alley entrance and tried the door but it was locked.

Lucky pulled the gun from his waistband and brought it up to rest on the lock, and fired. The loud noise ricocheted around the partially enclosed alley. A cat that had been sleeping under the trash bin, let out a yowl and took off out of the alley, several dogs began to bark in the distance but he heard nothing. The lock had broken, he pulled the door open and moved inside Jakes.

The bar was eerily quiet and dark, the smell of smoke and alcohol was so much stronger now, when there were no people around to dilute it. He moved further inside the main room, his eyes adjusted to the dark, and he could make out the faint outline of the pool table.

His gut twisted in remembrance of that night last spring when he'd walked in here and saw Jason wrapped around Elizabeth while she was bent over the table. He moved towards the table, his hand closing over the white ball that glowed slightly even in the dimness of the bar. Anger and jealousy had coursed through him, when he saw how comfortable they were with each other, the way she let Jason touch her. 

The anger only intensified when she chose to stay with Jason after he told her to leave with him. Even back then Jason was trying to come between them, trying to get Elizabeth for himself. But he hadn't won, Elizabeth had come back to him that night, just like she always did, in the end she always chose him.

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"I never stopped caring for Jason."

"Shut up." Lucky snapped throwing the cue ball at the bar, breaking the mirror behind it.

He panted heavily trying to force the anger back, to get control of himself again. Finally he turned and headed for the stairs. It was time to stop Jason from interfering once and for all. He paused on the steps, he had to be quiet, Jason was probably armed. The smell of smoke wasn't as strong back here, and he started to move stealthily up the stairs.

He paused sniffing the air again, in fact the scent that was the strongest was perfume. He knew that scent, it was Elizabeth's. He gasped in relief, she was here, he had found her. The relief faded and anger returned she was here and she was here with Jason. "No." He snapped. He couldn't believe that, Elizabeth and him were permanent, Jason must have brought her here, but she didn't want to be here, she was probably waiting for him to find her, and rescue her from Jason.

He turned down the dark hallway heading for the room, that Jake always kept empty for Jason. The door was partially open, and now he could smell the faint vanilla scent of her shampoo. His hand went to the gun and he drew it out slowly, he'd found her and he wasn't ever letting her go again.

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~Penthouse~

"Hello." Carly said groggily into the phone.

__

"Carly I need to talk to Sonny."

"Mike is that you?" She sat up and switched on the light to look at the clock. 

__

"Yes. Carly put him on, it's important." He had to talk to Sonny before the police questioned him.

"Mike he doesn't want to talk to you." Carly yawned loudly. "And I got to tell you, calling at 4:45 in the morning really isn't the best way to get on his good side."

__

"Damn'it Carly." Mike snapped. "Put him on the phone."

"Are you in trouble again? Because so help me Mike if you are…" Carly began sharply in warning.

__

"I don't have time for this, let me talk to him." He interrupted her watching a policeman head his way.

"He's not here."

__

"Oh God, is he okay?" Mike demanded fear for his son, overrode the approaching cop. "He wasn't with Cal was he?"

"No Johnny." She could hear the fear in his voice and she could hear something familiar in the background as well. "Mike what's wrong?"

__

"Carly I need to talk to him as soon as possible, something's happened and it's bad. I'll call back, but you need to get a hold of him." Mike finished in a rush hanging up the pay phone.

"Mike…" Carly glared at the phone for a second before hanging up. She had finally identified the noise in the background, it was pages for doctors. She got out of bed and began to get dressed, Mike was at the hospital, Sonny may not admit it but he did need his dad, she had to check on Mike.

****

~Kelly's~

Jason was still fighting off the latest memory when he moved over to Johnny who was thumbing through some books on small bookshelf. He saw lots of books on painting, a few mysteries even a romance one.

Johnny pulled one out and handed it to him. "This looks like something you would read."

"Johnny come here." Sonny called from the door.

Jason looked down at the book it was about Egypt. He had time to take a quick breath before another memory slammed into him.

__

~December 12, 1999~

Elizabeth pulled on her coat. "What else would you like?"

Jason moved slowly on the couch trying to find a comfortable position. "A pool table and a travel book."

She paused in buttoning her coat to smile at him. "Ok, I'll stop by the library." She picked up her bag. "And with that travel book where would you like to go?"

He thought about it for a minute. "Egypt."

"Egypt?" she paused in the doorway.

"Mm-hmm." 

"That could be arranged." She said cheekily.

He looked at the book again, he had read this one before, but that didn't mean it was the same copy. Why would she have kept it? Especially when she got mad at him about it.

__

~December 22, 1999~

Elizabeth turned around. "What are you doing?"

Jason paused in his exercises. "I'm trying to get the strength back in my arm." He pumped the book up and down again.

"You have a wound that's trying to heal without stitches." She told him stalking over to him. "You think you can wait a while before you start working out?"

"I'm being careful." He said defensively.

She put her hands on her hips and glared up at him. "No. No. No. You need to take it easy." She huffed out a breath in exasperation. "You promised Bobbie, you promised me."

Jason shifted guiltily, while he looked down into her soft brown eyes. "I feel much better."

"Well that's because you're letting yourself heal." She moved closer. "You start pushing yourself and you're going to feel rotten again real fast."

He could see the concern in her eyes and hated the fact that he had put it there. "Whatever you say."

She grinned. "Then I say it's time for lunch." She stepped away to get her coat. "What do you want from Kellys?"

"Anything but soup." He didn't even try to suppress the grimace at the thought of eating soup again.

"Ah the appetite returns." She laughed. "That's an excellent sign." She moved towards him again as if to study him, to see if he really was feeling better. "You up for your old usual?"

He caught a whiff of her perfume, it was soft and sweet, just like her. The worry was gone from her eyes, a teasing light that he was getting used to seeing was there instead. He blinked realizing she was waiting on his reply. "Yeah that would be fine."

"Okay, I'll just get Egypt out of the way for you." She reached out to take the book from him and her fingers brushed his.

Jason felt an awareness shoot through him at that brief contact. For a moment all he could do was look in her eyes, he thought he saw the same awareness reflected back in her eyes. He forced his mind back to the conversation. "No you can leave it."

Elizabeth let go slowly, almost as if she didn't want to, her fingers brushed his slightly in a light caress when she released the book. "As long as you don't use it as a free weight."

"I promise." He watched her walk to the door, she paused and looked back at him. He felt another jolt of awareness, and he felt a sense of awkwardness, that hadn't been there between them before.

"If you feel ravenous while I'm out." She gestured to a bowl of fruit she was sketching. "Feel free to eat some fruit."

He knew then that she had felt the awkwardness too, and that was her attempt to alleviate it. "No thanks I don't eat art."

He turned the book over in his hand, and flipped open the inside front cover. PROPERTY OF THE PORT CHARLES PUBLIC LIBRARY. It still didn't mean it was the same copy. He turned the page, the date due said December 29, 1999.

He snapped the book closed, it was the same book, and that probably was the same quarter, she had been keeping a history of their relationship. That meant she had been feeling the same things, he had been feeling even back then. That day in her studio a line had been crossed inside of him. He had stopped thinking of her as Lucky's girlfriend, or Emily's friend, he began to see her as Elizabeth Webber a woman and his friend, and he had begun to think about her a lot.

A feeling of uneasiness washed over him again, he needed to find her and soon, for some reason he felt time was running out.

****

~Powell House~

Jenna Powell checked her clock for the 5th time in the past 15 minutes. It was 4:50 a.m. and her daughter Amy still wasn't at home. She knew that the girl was only visiting, and that she was over 21 but damn'it this was still her house and Amy had to follow the rules.

She set aside _Whispers,_ the latest romance novel that she wasn't able to concentrate on, and moved to the window, looking out in the hopes of spotting her wayward daughter's car.

She was about to close the blinds again, when something caught her eye. The porch light on the Hardy house was flicking off and on. She knew that Audrey had installed a motion sensitive light, so she wondered why it was flicking like that. She opened the blind farther and squinted at the house across the street, trying to make out the porch.

"Oh my god." Jenna cried, racing for the door. She yanked it open and flew across the deserted street. "Audrey, are you okay?" She yelled when she got close.

Audrey was lying on the stairs, halfway on the driveway, once Jenna called to her the older woman stopped moving. Jenna crouched beside her. "Oh God, Audrey, hold on I'll get help." She told her when she saw the blood on the back of the woman's robe.

"Elizabeth…"

"Don't worry Audrey, I'll get her for you." Jenna said. "I need to get you help first." She glanced back at Audrey's open door, then decided to run home instead. She had seen one horror movie to many to go in a darkened house. "I'll be right back, don't move."

"Help Elizabeth." Audrey murmured weakly. "Don't let Lucky find her." She managed to get her warning out, before she slipped into unconsciousness again, but it was too late, Jenna was already gone. Her warning went unheard.

****

~Jake's~

Lucky tightened his grip on the gun. If Jason was in there with her, he was going to stop his interference once and for all. Elizabeth belonged to him and he was never going to let her go.

The anger was replaced by a familiar calmness, his eyes took on the vacant look, and he pushed the door open. He stood in the doorway for a second before flipping on the light and startling her, she whirled around in surprise. "Elizabeth." He said raising the gun. "I'm so disappointed in you." He walked in the room shutting the door behind him.

****

~Kelly's~

"Jason." Sonny touched his arm, speaking softly, he knew that Jason wasn't there. He had watched his friend drift off at various times while they searched the room. He knew Jason didn't daydream, so he must have been reliving memories of his time with Elizabeth. Each time Jason had come back from a memory, he looked more and more haunted. Sonny was afraid that if they didn't find something soon, Jason would never be the same. 

Jason still hadn't responded to him, so he tried again. "Jason we need to go, Don will be here in a few minutes, we have to get out of here."

Jason made no effort to move, or to even acknowledge that he heard Sonny. "One of her suitcases is gone, she might have left town." Sonny said trying to get through to him. "We need to check the stations for her."

Jason nodded slowly and set the book down on the bookshelf. He looked at Sonny and saw the worry in his friend's eyes. "I'm okay."

"Let's go back to the penthouse." Sonny said. "We can check on some things, and then go out again, you can check on Emily." Maybe with some rest, Jason would be able to function better.

"No Sonny." Jason headed for the door. "We have to hurry."

Johnny entered the room again. "Lucky's room is clean and I do mean clean. There isn't even a speck of dirt or anything in his trash. Everything is ordered, with precision. You could bounce a quarter off his mattress. There were no papers of any sort, just some cameras, and a portfolio, of Gia. The only personal photos he seems to have are of Elizabeth, Emily, Nikolas and his little sister, other than that there isn't even any knickknacks anywhere." He kept the discovery of the weights he had found a secret. He didn't think Jason needed to know that Lucky had been working out.

Jason looked down the hall at Lucky's closed door, he knew enough to know, that if he went in that room, he would destroy everything. He glanced back at Sonny, Sonny must have known it too, and that was why he had sent Johnny. He turned away feeling an irrational sense of anger, he couldn't help his anger, Sonny had let him down, again.

Sonny saw the anger directed at him and smothered a sigh. He knew he deserved it, but he also knew, unless he pushed it Jason would never bring it up. At least the Jason he was used to dealing with wouldn't, this version he didn't know about.

"Let's go to the studio." Jason said abruptly. "Francis should be ready for us now."

Johnny looked towards Sonny and they both thought the same thing. If Jason had gotten this weird over seeing her room, what was he going to do when he saw the blood and destruction in her studio?

Jason caught the look between them. "It's bad isn't it?"

"Yes." Sonny said quietly. "It might be better if we wait a bit longer…"

"Do you think it won't bother me in a couple of hours?" Jason asked calmly. "That the destruction and blood that is more than likely there won't effect me later on?"

"No. But I think…"

"Sonny we need to get one thing straight. When it comes to Elizabeth and what is going on here, you don't the call shots." Jason told him. "Not anymore."

Sonny watched him walk down the stairs and wondered if he had lost his best friend.


	7. She always comes to me

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Babble: Read the author's notes on the prologue. Any flashback without a specific date is all my creation.

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Reply: Please let me know if your reading this. And if you've replied already thanks you don't know how much that means.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

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Her Greatest Mistake

Chapter 6

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~Jake's~

"Lucky I can explain." Elizabeth said quickly.

"Save it Elizabeth." Lucky snapped, moving closer to her, the hand holding the gun shaking because of the rage inside of him. "So where is he?"

"Where is who?"

"Jason, is he hiding in the bathroom?" Lucky asked heading towards the closed bathroom door. "Morgan get your ass out here."

"Lucky he's not here." Elizabeth told him quietly.

Lucky ignored her shoving the door open, to look inside the empty bathroom. His temper was still sizzling when he turned back to glare at her. He frowned when he saw her take a step back from him. The fact she was retreating from him infuriated him even more. It was like she thought he would hurt her. He would never hurt her. What had Jason done to her mind? "What happened to the promises that you made to me? As recently as last night, you swore to me that you would stay away from Jason." He paused and gestured around the room with the gun. "Yet here you are again, I guess your word doesn't mean anything, anymore."

"Lucky please let me explain," she pleaded. "I was looking for Jason, but not for the reason you think, I needed to tell him goodbye." She paused. "Forever."

Lucky jammed the gun in his waistband. "Do you expect me to believe that? How many times have you told me that you were saying goodbye for good to Jason?" He circled her while he taunted her. "First there was the night I found you downstairs, with his arms around you."

"He was just showing me how to play pool."

"Right, you stayed with him and sent me away," he snapped.

"Lucky you ordered me to go, I'm not a dog. I don't just obey your orders." Elizabeth snapped, her eyes flashing in frustration.

"Let's see then there was the time you went and saw him after the photo shoot." He scratched his chin. "You lied to me telling me that you needed to be alone, and you came here instead. Then later on you lied again saying you were at the mall."

Elizabeth blanched. "You knew I came here?"

"Yes," he yelled, coming to a stop in front of her. "I came looking for Jason the next day to apologize to him, and guess what?" He leaned closer to her and whispered. "I found your gloves here."

"That was the night you two fought on the docks," she said slowly, horror filling her eyes.

He reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders, ignoring the surprise in her eyes, and her slight yelp of pain, when he began to shake her. "The night he tried to kill me with a knife."

"Lucky stop that, you're hurting me." Elizabeth cried a tear slipping from her eye.

"I'm hurting you?" He asked in stunned surprise, he jerked her close so his face was inches from his own. "What about the way you hurt me?" He saw the fear in her eyes and shoved her away from him, causing her to stumble back into the bed. "You've been lying to me for months about Jason don't you think that hurts me?"

"Lucky calm down." Elizabeth said getting to her feet.

Lucky began to prowl the room. "I thought the lies were over, didn't you promise me last night, that you would only tell me the truth from now on?"

"Yes."

"What happened to you Elizabeth?" he asked keeping his back to her while he rested his hands on the desk.

"I just needed to say goodbye to him Lucky." Her voice was soft and it came from directly behind him. "He was my friend once, I couldn't just let it end without a word. But I was too late, he's already gone."

He could hear the disappointment in her voice and it infuriated him. She wasn't supposed to care about Jason, she was to care about him.

__

"I never stop caring for Jason."

Incensed Lucky picked up the lamp on the desk, whirling around and throwing it at her in one swift motion.

****

~Penthouse~

Carly eased the door to the guest room closed quietly, Emily was still asleep, and for the moment, she looked peaceful, the dreams she'd had earlier, were held at bay, for now.

She crossed the hall and let herself into Michael's room, moving to the daybed to check on him. She pulled up the sheet and kissed him lightly on the cheek before moving out of the room and heading down the stairs.

The living room was still lighted and she glanced at the clock on the desk, 5:10 a.m. Jason should be in town by now. She hoped he was okay, and that he wasn't blaming Sonny for what happened. Sonny already blamed himself, and if Jason blamed him too. She shook her head it wasn't Sonny's fault, he wasn't a mind reader, he couldn't have known what was going on with Lucky and Elizabeth. How could he have known if Elizabeth never told him?

__

"Hello?" Carly asked tucking the phone between her shoulder and head, while putting her earring on the other ear.

"I need to speak with Sonny, is he there?"

"Who is this?" Carly asked suspiciously. The feminine voice was soft and vaguely familiar.

"Carly can I speak with him? It's important."

"Is this Elizabeth?" She demanded, suddenly recognizing the voice. "Listen I told you to stay the hell away from my husband."

"P-please Carly." Elizabeth's voice broke.

Carly shook the memory away, there was no use in thinking about what she couldn't change. That did remind her, she needed to talk to Cal as soon as possible, like tonight. But first she needed to check on Mike. Sonny was mad at Mike more times than not, but Carly knew that he did love him. She wanted to go to the hospital to check on him, but couldn't leave Emily. She ran her hand over her hair, she didn't want to bother Sonny, but if something was wrong with Mike, and she didn't tell him, Sonny would be mad at her. With a sigh she picked up the phone and dialed Sonny's cell number.

****

~Hardy House~

"What do we got?" Lieutenant Marcus Taggert asked an officer when he reached the crime scene.

"A neighbor," the officer looked at her notes. "A Jenna Powell discovered the victim lying halfway on the drive in a pool of blood. The vic is on her way to General Hospital, it doesn't look good." She jerked her finger. "The witness is over there."

Taggert nodded. Smothering a yawn he headed towards the witness. "What was the victim's name?"

The officer consulted her notes again. "The owner, one Audrey Hardy."

Taggert looked at the house in surprise, when he'd gotten the call about a shooting at this address, he'd thought the address sounded vaguely familiar but he hadn't had time to check it out. He had a vague memory of speaking to Elizabeth Webber and Lucky Spencer here once. He remembered how nice and friendly Mrs. Hardy had always been to him, and his gut burned over the fact that this had happened to her.

"Mrs. Powell?" Taggert asked the woman in the blue bathrobe, who had obviously been crying.

"Yes." Jenna wrenched her eyes from the bloody stain on the drive.

"Can you tell me what happened here tonight?" Taggert asked, taking her arm lightly to propel her away from the early morning curiosity seekers that had gathered on the sidewalk beside her.

"I was waiting for my daughter Amy to get home, she should have been home hours ago." She glanced at her wrist automatically, expecting to see her watch, but she wasn't wearing it.

"How old is Amy?" The last thing he needed was a missing kid on top of this.

"What?" Jenna asked in confusion. "Oh she's 22."

"Okay, what happened next?" Taggert asked opening his notebook.

"I went to the window to look for Amy and I noticed that Audrey's porch light was flicking off and on. I got curious so I opened the blinds to look, and I saw…I saw Audrey…" Her eyes filled.

"It's okay take your time." Taggert said softly trying to reassure her.

"She was lying on the drive. I raced over here and saw the blood."

"Was she conscious?"

"Yes she was moving, crawling towards the street, when she heard me she stopped."

"Alright then what?" Taggert prompted.

"I ran back to my house, and called 911, then I came back here." She paused. "I brought a blanket." She pointed to a bloody blanket lying on the grass. "She was unconscious by then, so I just wrapped it around her." Audrey had looked so pale and lifeless, when she had come back, that for a few terrifying seconds she had thought Audrey was dead.

"Did she say anything to you?" Taggert asked.

"No." Jenna said immediately, only to frown when she remembered something. "Wait she asked for Elizabeth, her granddaughter."

"She did?"

"Well she said Elizabeth's name." Jenna explained.

Taggert noted the difference in his notes. "Did she say anything else?"

"No." The night sky was giving way to dawn, and even though it was already close to 80 degrees, Jenna still felt chilled.

"Before you found her, did you hear anything suspicious? Did you hear any loud noises or see anyone in the neighborhood that you weren't used to seeing?"

"I don't know. Fireworks had been going off all night." She rubbed at her eyes trying to remember. "There was one time, I heard a real loud firecracker, like an M-80, well actually there were two of them, one right after the other."

"When was that?" Taggert asked. A gunshot could sound like a firecracker to the untrained ear.

"Around 4:00 a.m."

"And you found Mrs. Hardy when?"

"About 4:45." Her eyes widened the implications of his questions sinking in. "You think that was when she was shot? That I heard the shooting?"

"Mom."

Jenna turned around to see her daughter on the other side of the police crime scene tape. "Thank God."

"Go on, we'll take your official statement later." Taggert told her, gesturing towards her daughter.

Jenna started away, only to stop and turn around. "Should I call Elizabeth?"

"No. I'll take care of that." Taggert told her, before heading towards the drive again. He paused noticing for the first time the chalk outline on the drive and sidewalk. "Who did the outline?" Taggert asked the same officer he spoke to earlier.

"I did." She smiled giving her explanation. "I beat the ambulance, I knew we would probably need it, the old lady didn't look good, she probably won't make it."

Taggert glared coldly at the rookie. "The old lady has a name and she is still alive. There was no call for you to treat her like she wasn't." He snapped. "Go over and help with crowd control."

"Sir…" She questioned glancing over to the five people who were on the sidewalk. They weren't exactly a crowd. Besides as first on scene, she had a right to be near the action.

"Get the hell out of my sight. Until you learn respect, you have no business being here." Taggert ordered before heading towards the house.

****

~Limo~

Sonny glanced at his watch 5:15 a.m. "Max why are we taking the long way?" He called to the driver.

"There's some police activity down on Elm, it looks like crime scene techs, and I didn't think you wanted us to be noticed." Max explained.

"Good." Sonny pulled out his phone and called Francis.

__

"Hello."

"We're on our way. Are you ready for us?" Sonny asked.

__

"Yes. I've done as much as I can without further equipment and a lab." Francis said tiredly.

"Any problems?"

__

"No it's been quiet here."

"Good send the others away. We should be there in a few." Sonny closed the phone. If Jason did have a hard time at the studio, the fewer the people who saw it, the better.

He looked over at Jason who was staring out the window, towards the breaking dawn. He needed to prepare Jason for the studio. He raised the privacy glass, so Max couldn't hear. "Jason."

Jason turned to look at him saying nothing.

"I told you we were at the studio earlier, I need to tell you what we found." Sonny said slowly.

Jason took a deep breath to prepare himself. "Okay."

"It's a wreck, all of her paintings have been destroyed. Her supplies are trashed so is her easel. The paint is everywhere, and some of it is mixed with blood. Francis has been checking it out, but he wasn't going to disturb anything." He rubbed his chin before forcing himself to go on. "I told you there is some blood, but the worse part is the closet." He stopped, not knowing how to explain.

After a minute, Johnny finished it for him. "There is a lot of blood in the closet, inside it I found a bag with a decapitated cat in it. Francis said the cat belonged to her Grandmother." He paused. "The head was missing."

Jason looked at Johnny, his expression was the closest thing to shock, Johnny had ever seen from Jason.

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~January 2000~

"My Gram has this hellion of a cat." Elizabeth said shifting on the bench. "The only person that cat has ever liked was Lucky. He was the only person he'd let pet him, pick him up, or come too. I swear that cat loved to wake me up in the mornings by jumping on me with its claws extended." She finished with a grumble.

Jason laughed. "So he was a terror?"

"You see this?" Elizabeth asked pulling off her glove and holding out her left hand, pointing to the jagged scar on her index finger that looked like half of a wishbone.

"Yeah what about it?"

"One time when I was visiting Gram, I think I was about 12 or so, the little bugger bit me."

Jason laughed again, ignoring the wounded look she shot him, when he did.

"It's not funny. He wouldn't let go, the cat was literally hanging from my finger, while I screamed bloody murder." Her face was the picture of outrage.

"It must have been a small cat then." He couldn't help but tease.

She punched him lightly on the shoulder, before laughing herself. "So maybe it's hind legs were still on the ground, that's not the point of the story."

He took her hand to look at the scar on her finger. "It does look like it probably hurt." He admitted. "Put your glove on, it's cold."

"No what hurt was that I got in trouble for picking on Gatsby." She told him pulling on her glove. "I'm the one bleeding and I'm the one in trouble." She rolled her eyes.

Jason wisely smothered his laugh. "That's not right."

"That's the Webbers." She quipped. "Hey there's a vendor selling hot chocolate, you want one? My treat?" She asked getting to her feet.

He thought of his desk and all the paperwork that had piled up, while he had been recovering. Then he looked into her hopeful face, seeing the humor in her eyes, her cheeks still red from the ride they had just taken. He had missed her this last week. "Sure, the paperwork will keep awhile longer." He said getting up. "But it's my treat."

"Getting bossy now Jason?" She asked falling in step beside him.

"I learned from a master." He said with a sly grin.

She laughed and stuck her arm through his. "You have so much left to learn."

"Gatsby?" He asked forcing the memory away.

"Yeah that's the name Francis said." Sonny nodded.

Jason turned back towards the window. How much had Elizabeth gone through while he was gone? How much more would she go through before he found her?

****

~Penthouse~

Carly slammed the phone down. "Damn'it Sonny who the hell are you talking too?"

She drummed her fingers on the desk, unsure of what to do now. Mike hadn't called back yet, and even if he had she couldn't help him. She was under strict instructions never to give him Sonny's cell number.

She bowed her head to rest it on the desk, only to pause when she saw the partially open drawer. Sonny must have forgotten to lock it after calling Enrique. Her hand hovered over the drawer handle. She had bought him this desk with locks to prove something to him, after she had let Bobbie snoop in the last one. She glanced over to the closed door, and then yanked the drawer open, pulling out his work address book.

She thumbed quickly through the book, then scribbled down the name and address, put the book back in the drawer and shut it quickly. Pushing Mike to the back of her mind, she dialed Cal's cell number. She drummed her fingers, waiting impatiently, she was about to hang up, when it was picked up.

__

"Hello."

"Mike? Why do you have Cal's phone?" She asked in surprise.

****

~Jake's~

As soon as he let the lamp fly towards her, he regretted it, shocked that he had even thrown it, much less thrown it at Elizabeth. Lucky looked down at his hand in shock, and then looked back up at her, in apology.

She was gone.

"Elizabeth?" He called searching the room for her. The room was empty, there wasn't even a broken lamp on the floor. "I don't understand?" He whispered.

His head was throbbing again, he moved into the bathroom, and turned on the cold water in the sink. He realized then that she had never been there, at least not, tonight. What had just happened was a vivid memory of the last time they were here, that was when he broke the lamp, by throwing it at her, not tonight. He sighed in relief, having figured that out.

The water began to run red when he scrubbed at his face trying to clear his mind. He stared at his hands, watching the blood swirl down the drain with water. How had he gotten blood on his hands?

He looked up to look at himself in the mirror and gave a cry of surprise, when he saw Elizabeth in the mirror standing behind him. What surprised him the most was her appearance. Her eye was swollen shut, there was blood coming from the corner of her mouth, he could see the harsh red outline of someone's hands that had been left on her pale throat.

__

"Please stop."

Horrified he spun around to touch her and she vanished. His breath came in hard pants, he slowly turned around, his fingers clutching the sink in support. He kept his eyes down to focus on the water, which was once again clear, all traces of blood gone. He kept staring at the water until his heart rate leveled, and his breathing evened. When that happened he braced himself and slowly raised his head to look in the mirror again.

This time he moaned when he saw his appearance. His eyes were wild and unfocused, he still had a trace of blood on his forehead. Whose blood was it and why couldn't he remember? He bent towards the water again, it didn't matter whose it was, he wanted it gone, he rubbed the water over his face, to clean it off. He looked back in the mirror, and saw Jason standing behind him with a smirk on his face.

__

"You see she always comes looking for me."

"You shut up Jason." Lucky ordered.

__

Jason leaned back against the wall, crossed his arms over his chest, and grinned cockily at Lucky. "You were never enough to keep her happy or satisfied, that was what she needed me for. She needed me."

"No she loved me, needed me, you confused her." Lucky argued desperately, gripping the sink again, when the anger, his new and constant friend, returned.

__

"No I saved her." Jason explained.

"No." Lucky cried angrily. "I saved her. In the park it was me that saved her."

__

"And I saved her from you." Jason taunted. "When you tried to control who her friends were, what she did with her life, her feelings, she came to me, she needed me. You see Lucky I set her free." He paused to grin at Lucky. "I set her free, and you know what? She still wanted to be with me."

"NO. NO. NO." Lucky shouted the roaring was back in his ears. He focused on Jason and heard his laughter. He plowed his fist into Jason's face, shattering the mirror, but not feeling it. In the broken shards of the mirror, he could still see Jason behind him, and worse he could still hear his laughter.

He whirled around, but Jason was gone, the echo of his laughter, reverberating in the small bathroom. He stormed from the bathroom into the other room, but Jason wasn't there. He shoved over the dresser, then moved to the chairs by the window, intent on destroying everything.

__

"Jason I plan on telling Lucky everything tonight."

Her voice brought his rampage to a stop. He didn't want that memory, he brought his hands up to cover his ears and shook his head desperately trying to block it, but it came anyway. He couldn't believe it when she said that.

__

"Jason can I go with you?" Elizabeth asked.

"It's up to you." Jason said turning towards the stairs.

He had hid by the payphone, watching them go up the stairs, to come to this room. Alone to this room, with Jason, after she had said never again.

__

"I plan on telling Lucky everything tonight."

What had she been going to tell him? That she was sleeping with Jason?

__

"Yes." Jason answered his question.

Lucky turned and focused on the bed, where Jason was lying down, his hands propped behind his head, his feet crossed at his ankles. "That's not true, she wouldn't cheat on me."

__

"Then why did she come to my room, when I offered to bring her the gloves downstairs?" Jason asked. "Why do you think she wanted to be alone with me?" He patted the bed. "This sure got a workout."

"No." Lucky yelled. It couldn't be true, it just couldn't, his hand closed over the butt of the gun again.

__

"I plan on telling Lucky everything tonight."

He focused on the bed again, and this time he saw Elizabeth, his Elizabeth, lying there on top of Jason, they were both naked. "No." He staggered back from the bed. 

__

"I plan on telling Lucky everything tonight."

He pulled the gun from his jeans and moved over to the couple that was intertwined on the bed. "I told you Elizabeth we're a permanent lock. I can't live without you."

__

"Lucky you're killing me, stop."

"And I won't let you live without me." He put the gun to her head and pulled the trigger, sending the feathers from the pillow he had just shot in the air. Jason's laughter echoed in his ears.

****

~Studio~

Johnny led the way down the dimly lit hallway to her studio. The building was eerily silent in the early dawn. He knew from checking it out before that the building was mostly unoccupied, but the quiet that was here now, seemed like it belonged in a morgue not this building. The only noise was the rhythmic tapping from Jason's boots as he walked along the wood floor. He paused outside the door and waited for Sonny and Jason to catch up. He glanced at Sonny who nodded at him. "Francis." He said knocking lightly. "Open up." The door was opened almost immediately and he stepped inside.

Sonny glanced back at an impassive Jason, then took a deep breath and entered the destroyed studio for the second time tonight.

Jason paused outside the door, his focus was on the food bags, that were propped against the wall. They were greasy, stained and the odor of sour food was beginning to seep from them. The animal inhabitants of the building had already discovered the fare and hurried down the hall, when he kicked one of the bags so it stood up, displaying the logo on the side. _Eli's Rib Tickling Good_. He remembered Elizabeth telling him that Eli's was Lucky's favorite place to eat.

Had Lucky hurt her, and then went out to get supper? When had he returned and where was Elizabeth then? His eyes were fixated on the bags, his feet seemed to be bolted to the floor.

"Jason?" Sonny stepped closer, touching his arm, trying to get his attention.

"He went out for food?" His voice sounded rusty even to his ears.

"As soon as Eli's opens Francis will check to find out what time he was there." Sonny told him. "Are you ready for this?" He asked when Jason still made no effort to move.

"Would you be ready? If you got a phone call like I did tonight?" Jason asked wearily.

"Look you don't have to do this now." Sonny said keeping his voice low. "I can handle things here, and update you later, after you rest awhile."

"If the situation was reversed, and it was Carly who was missing, would you trust me to find her?" Jason asked, looking at him.

"Yes." Sonny answered without hesitation. Jason had never, ever let him down. "I trust you completely, with my family, with my life."

"Well, there's the problem. I can't trust you like that, not anymore, not with her, she's too important, to be forgotten again." Jason said coldly. He saw Sonny flinch in reaction and felt a momentary pang of regret. He needed to let go of this anger he was feeling towards Sonny, but right now it was one of the things that was keeping him moving.

Sonny stepped back to let Jason enter the room. For the moment Jason kept his eyes on the door. When he grabbed the side of the door to close it, he saw the bloody handprint on it, from its size, he knew it was a woman's.

He hesitated for a long minute before turning with the door to close it, keeping his back to the room, he took a deep breath and rested his head on the window in the door. Flashes of memory were hitting him, memories of her and him in this room. From the first time she brought him here, to the last time he saw it, when she kicked him out. There was so much of her, and him in this studio, it scared him. And that was unusual. He didn't get scared, he was the one in control. But this studio, and outside on his bike was where he had fallen in love with her, and now, if Emily was right, this studio could also be where she died. His hand tightened on the doorknob, he didn't want to see it broken, because he was afraid that when he saw her next she would be broken too.

"Jason you told me yourself, that you knew she wasn't here. So this is just a room." Sonny said quietly. He didn't want to give Jason any false hope, but he could see that his friend was faltering and he needed to help him stay focused.

"You're right Sonny, this wasn't where she was killed, because she's not dead." Jason said, straightening up, and slowly turning around.

****

~Cassadine Yacht~

"You rang Madame?" Andreas asked from the doorway, hastily smoothing his robe in place when she wasn't looking.

Helena Cassadine looked at the clock beside her bed. 5:30. "I thought I told you to wake me when Lucky Spencer arrived."

"He never showed up Madame."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Helena snapped. There were times when she missed his brother Ari. It was a pity she'd had to kill him, but disloyalty and failure were unforgivable sins in her book.

"Madame I am sorry…" He started quickly.

"Save your feeble excuses, find Lucky and bring him to me. I have decided it's time for the next part of my plan." Helena ordered in dismissal, lying back against the pillows. Port Charles wouldn't know what hit it by the time she was through with it.

****

~Jake's~

Lucky pulled a feather from his hair. Why had he shot a pillow? He stared at the gun in his hand, he wanted to drop it, but he couldn't seem to let it go. Somehow he knew that he would need the gun. He glanced around the room trying to figure out where he was. 

His lifeless blue eyes suddenly glowed in recognition, he was at Jake's and he'd been looking for Elizabeth. But of course she wasn't here. He knew where she was. He shook his head, what was wrong with him, she was probably getting worried about him. He tucked the gun in his jeans at the small of his back, and headed out the door, leaving the destroyed room in his wake. Soon they would be reunited and no one would ever come between them again. "You hear that Jason? No one will ever come between us again."

__

"She always comes to me." Jason's words were mocking and they followed him down the hall.

Lucky began to whistle to block them out. He had to get there, he had to get to Elizabeth, he shouldn't have been gone so long, time was running out. He pushed open the door.

__

"She always comes to me."


	8. I saw him kill her

****

Steph's Babble: Well it doesn't appear that very many people are interested in this fic, so I don't know how much longer I'll post it here. For those who have read and replied thanks for your interest. The scope is widening now, as more and more people find out about the aftermath. I'm working in a lot of Port Charles' citizens.

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Disclaimer: I own nothing but the madness.

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Her Greatest Mistake

Chapter 7

****

~GH E.R.~

Taggert moved wearily up to the Nurse's desk, he was tired of being on nights, but he saw no end in sight. This was the new Commissioner's punishment for continuing to go after Corinthos.

__

"Vendetta's like yours may have been tolerated under Scorpio's regime, but not mine. Mr. Corinthos is a law-abiding member of the community and until there is concrete proof otherwise you will cease in your harassment of him."

The words the fussily anal politician had said to him still made him angry. He wished harder than ever that Mac would come back, at least he was willing to work to get things done.

"Can I help you?" A big-eyed, dark-haired nurse interrupted his dark thoughts.

"Yes." He showed her his badge. "I'm Lieutenant Taggert. I am investigating the shooting of Audrey Hardy, I need some information as to her condition."

The nurse's eyes filled with tears. "Just a minute…"

"I'll handle this Gabriella." Nurse Melissa Bedford said waving the younger and more distraught nurse off.

"Thanks." Gabriella hurried away.

"Audrey is special to everyone here at GH, but she oversees the nursing program, so it is real hard on the newer ones." Melissa explained.

"She's a great lady." Taggert said.

"Yes she is." Melissa agreed softly before turning to the task at hand. "Audrey is in surgery right now. The bullet is lodged near her heart. Dr. Monica Quartermaine is operating trying to remove it now." She glanced at her watch, 5:57 a.m. "She's been in surgery for almost an hour, and probably has at least another hour to go."

"How severe is it?" Taggert asked.

"I didn't work on her, Bobbie Spencer was with her, and now she is in the O.R. but I hear it was pretty bad." She looked past him. "Eve did you work on Audrey Hardy?"

A pregnant doctor nodded, handed a file to an orderly and moved over to the desk. "Yes." She said eyeing Taggert coolly. "Taggert."

"Dr. Lambert, is that still your name these days?" Taggert asked seeing the familiar banked hostility in her eyes.

"It'll work." Eve said arching a brow in his direction. "Audrey was in pretty bad shape. The E.M.T.'s brought her in and after a quick exam and x-rays she was rushed into emergency surgery."

"Was she ever conscious?"

"No." Eve led the way to a x-ray rack by one of the exam rooms, flipping on the light to illuminate the x-rays still hanging there. "We x-rayed her first off, to see the path of the bullet." She pointed to the film. "It entered here about the middle of her back and traveled until it came to rest here." She tapped the film with her pen, "at the base of her heart. It's applying pressure to the artery there, slowing the flow of blood."

Taggert put his hands on the back of his neck and frowned at the x-ray. He couldn't understand what he was seeing but from her tone, he knew that Mrs. Hardy's chances weren't good. "Do you know if she was conscious at any point?"

"She wasn't the E.M.T.'s said so."

"Could you tell what caliber of bullet?"

Eve glared at him. "We haven't retrieved the bullet yet, so it is all speculation, but judging from the size of the entrance wound, it's a smaller caliber maybe a .32 or .38"

"What are her chances?" he asked wearily.

"I don't like too…" she hedged.

"Ballpark, I'm not family I won't hold you to it Dr. Lambert." He interrupted her.

Eve sighed heavily, then spoke the truth. The truth that she had been trying to deny, ever since Audrey had been wheeled in here. "Not to good. She was shot in the head a few years ago and had a rather unorthodox surgery." She shook her head banishing the image of the power drill. "It saved her life, but she had a minor heart attack in reaction, so the heart muscle has already been damaged once. You factor in her age and the length of time it took before she was treated…" Her voice trailed off and she took a minute to go on. When she did, Taggert could hear the tears in her voice. "Maybe 40%."

"40% chance of survival?" he needed to be clear.

"Yes. If that's all I have other patients." She snapped wanting to get away from him before she lost it completely. It didn't matter that he was only doing his job, she really hated Taggert, because of the way he had treated her before, so the last thing she wanted was to cry in front of him.

"Yes thank you." Taggert stepped back letting her pass. "Dr. Lambert." He called after her. "Congratulations on your baby."

Taggert rubbed on his neck trying to work out the kinks and headed outside, to use his cell phone. "It's Lieutenant Taggert, have you found anything else?" He rubbed his hands over his eyes, blocking the brightening dawn while he listened. "I'm at GH so let me know anything you find." He glanced at his watch. "Start the door-to-door questioning around 7:00, because its the 4th of July, and a Friday, a lot of people might be going out of town, so if someone starts packing a car, question them right away." He ordered closing the phone and moving back inside to wait for word.

He glanced around the quiet E.R. for a minute before heading for the small waiting area, he slumped heavily on a couch, and closed his eyes. He was just beginning to drift when he felt someone beside him.

"Marcus is that you?" A feminine voice asked him.

****

~Studio~

Jason had thought he had braced himself for seeing her studio. He knew it was destroyed that there was blood and paint everywhere. He knew from the looks that Johnny and Sonny had exchanged that it was bad. So he thought he was ready…but he wasn't. One of the blessings of his accident was that he couldn't imagine things, but this time it was a curse, because hearing what was done to her studio, did not prepare him for seeing it.

The canvas's, some of which he had probably stretched for her, were no longer stacked neatly against the wall. Instead they were twisted, broken, and spread throughout the small room. The only piece of furniture, that looked the way it should, was her cluttered table. Parts of her easel were on the floor, a leg of it peeking out from underneath the overturned sofa.

The sofa that was so uncomfortable, that he had spent weeks lying on had had its back broken on one side. He could see paint, at least he hoped it was paint, dripping off the edge to the floor.

The floor was littered with debris, bits and pieces of her stuff was strewn over it, mixed with a variety of colors of paint. The brightest color, the one repeated throughout the room was red. He stared hard at one particularly large stain of red. He couldn't tell if blood or paint had made it, he didn't know if he wanted to know.

"It's paint."

The voice jarred him and Jason looked up at the tall blonde man talking to him. "What Francis?"

Francis was unprepared for the loss he could see in Jason's eyes. "That spot is paint. In fact quite a lot of what I originally thought was blood is actually paint."

Jason nodded, stopping his motion abruptly when his attention landed on something behind Francis. The handprints on the closed closet door, those he knew were made by blood.

"Tell us what you know Francis." Sonny ordered softly watching Jason when he seemed to freeze in his tracks.

"Most of the blood is centered over here, between the sofa and the window." Francis started in monotone. He kept telling himself over and over that it was just a report, like any of the countless others he had given. But it wasn't just a report. He had done things like this before, both when he was a cop and for Sonny, he had even known the victim before, but this was different. She was an innocent in this, and this time he wasn't just explaining to his bosses what had happened here. He was also explaining it to people who cared about, and even loved her. Trying to remain professional in their face of the grief, and also feeling it himself, was difficult.

"I found three distinct blood trails, I took small samples from each one, and will type it later. But I think each trail was made at a different point in time, so I believe there were separate victims." Francis moved carefully to stand beside a spot of blood on the floor, roughly the size of a soup bowl. "This one here, you can see moved to the couch and, the person used it to leverage herself up." He moved with the trail to illustrate what he was saying. He was trying to remain objective but he had already slipped into calling the victim a woman.

"From there she moved to the door, there were drops along the way." He continued on. "She paused by the door, that's where the streak comes from by the door, more than likely from her head, I found a piece of long brown hair, in the blood. She also left the handprint on the door when she left."

Had he really thought that he had no imagination? Because it wasn't true. While Francis was speaking Jason kept picturing Elizabeth, then Emily, then Elizabeth, doing what Francis said. He stayed rooted to the floor trying to banish the images from his mind.

"Judging from the height of the blood stain it was more than likely Emily who left the mark." Francis finished.

"So." Sonny said moving over to stand beside his immobile friend. "What you're saying is this victim, probably Emily walked out of here on her own steam?"

"Yes, I don't think she was leaning on anyone, the trail weaved but there was no missing spots, that would have occurred if she was unbalanced. She left on her own." Francis agreed.

"Walking out is good." Sonny said. "Right Jason?"

Elizabeth, Emily, Elizabeth, Emily, Emily, Emily. Jason closed his eyes tightly to banish her from his head.

"Jason." Sonny's voice was low but srrong, demanding a response from him.

Jason heard him and couldn't ignore the command in the voice, he backed away from the edge his mind was taking him to, and opened his eyes. He nodded briefly at Sonny, the only thing he would allow himself to give Sonny in thanks. "What about the other two trails?"

"Well one of them, this one, leads from the closet." Francis said reluctantly.

Jason took a step towards the closet, only to stop when his foot came down on something lumpy on the floor. He squatted down, pulling carefully at some papers, to expose it. He took a deep breath when recognition crashed into him.

__

~December 24, 1999~

Jason stood ramrod straight in the elevator, he couldn't believe he had walked willingly into the hospital. This was going to be hard for him, but he would do it, for the chance to see Michael. He knew Elizabeth was going to be here too, maybe she would help him get through this, she always seemed to help him with everything else. She had raced out of the studio an hour ago, talking a mile a minute. So he knew something had either upset her, embarrassed her, or there was something going on she wasn't ready to talk about yet. He knew this holiday was going to be rough on her, it was going to be hard on him too. He never really got the big deal with holidays, until Michael, and knowing he wouldn't see him on Christmas Day to open his present, he finally understood that not being with someone you loved on the holiday could hurt. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad for either one of them because they would be together.

The elevator came to a stop, he took a deep breath and got off of it. His eyes scanned the room, coming to a stop on Elizabeth, at least he thought it was her. "Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth turned around the surprise and delight evident on her face. "Hey, I can't believe you're here."

He shrugged. "Yeah me either." He could hear the sounds of the party becoming louder and knew it was only a matter of time before the Quartermaine's arrived.

"Are you okay?" She asked in concern.

"Yeah." His eyes roved over her body, what was she wearing? "I thought I'd just stand back and maybe watch Michael."

"Oh."

He looked at her again and couldn't help but smirk. That explained why she had kept her coat on after getting dressed earlier.

"What?" She demanded her eyes glinting in a dare.

"That is the funniest outfit I have ever seen." Jason told her with a laugh.

"Ok, Ok." Her face went red before she retorted. "I'm supposed to be an elf. Can't you tell?" She finished snottily.

He stepped closer. "Yeah." He plucked the hat off of her head. "It's a nice hat." He pressed it to his chest. "I used to have one just like this."

"Jason." She grabbed for the hat but he held it out of her reach. "I need the hat back."

He could tell she was trying to be angry, but he could see the humor in her eyes. There was something about her that brought out his need to tease. He was oblivious to the other people that had entered the lobby, he kept the hat out of her reach. He felt better than he had in a long time. "Relax." He told her when she tried to grab it again.

"I know, but I need the hat back." She managed to grab the end of it. "Give me the hat back." She tugged on it, the laughter in her eyes. "I need it back now."

"Emily must have given it back to her." Jason said roughly. The hat was stained blue with paint. "She forgot it after the fight, and wondered what happened to it." He got to his feet, putting the hat back where he found it. "I guess we know now." He shook the thought away and began to move again.

Johnny moved over to stand in front of the closet. "You don't want to see this."

"Move Johnny." Jason ordered.

"Just let Francis tell you about it, there is no reason for you to look inside." Johnny said refusing to budge.

"Johnny." Jason's voice was low, the warning clear.

"Francis continue." Sonny ordered trying to head off the confrontation. He didn't want Jason to see the closet either. There was an edge in Jason he wasn't used to seeing, he didn't know how Jason would react and that worried him. Sometimes he was calm and unflappable as usual, other times, he seemed angry and almost out of control, even though he never raised his voice, or made any sudden moves. He knew that Jason's control was hanging by a thread, and he didn't know what would finally snap it. He couldn't help wanting to protect Jason from that happening.

"What's in the closet is blood, no paint at all. Along with the bag with the cat in it, there were a few other things. There is smear on the floor, and footprints, actually two sets of footprints. One is from a man and the other ones were a lot smaller, more than likely from a woman." He went on reluctantly. "Also the handprint on the door, is blood, and it's from a man."

"What else?" Sonny asked, while Jason continued his staring war with Johnny.

"The smear on the floor, is more than likely from a person while they rested there. There were some scratches on the inside of the door, around the handle, I found a … a part of a fingernail embedded in the wood." Jason had no reaction to that, but Francis still hurried on. "There are also some items in there, that I don't think belong, but they don't give us a lead on what happened here, or where Elizabeth is now."

"I've been in that closet, I'll know what belongs and what doesn't." Jason said quietly.

Sonny rubbed a hand over his jaw. "Move Johnny."

Johnny reluctantly stepped out of the way.

"Here." Francis held out some gloves before Jason could move forward.

Jason tugged on the gloves, took a deep breath and opened the door.

Sonny closed his eyes when the stench hit him, it was stronger than it had been a few hours ago, and it was severe enough that it made his eyes water. He leaned on the table focusing on the clutter he found there, while he blinked the moisture away.

His eye was caught by a piece of a sketch he saw there, he edged a jar filled with brushes off of it with the flat of his hand. He was surprised when he saw Michael's face looking back at him. She must have drawn it when he was at the park, he was sitting in the sandbox, his mouth was open in what Sonny recognized as the gleeful laugh he always made when he flipped his dump truck.

Elizabeth had captured him so completely that he thought he could hear Michael's squeal of delight. He didn't know when she had drawn it, but he thought it was pretty recent. The shirt she had drawn him in, was a new one. It was yet another bribe attempt from Mike. It amazed him to think that she could see beauty in light of the pain she had to have been in. He carefully folded the sketch and tucked it into his breast pocket, turning to look at Jason who had moved inside the closet.

Jason realized that being numb could be a good thing. After the first rush of odor he had managed to block it out. He saw the bag that probably contained the cat yet made no move to open it.

He couldn't help remember the last time he had stood in this room, it was because of Lucky then as well. He remembered the frustration and jealousy he had felt, listening to Lucky and Elizabeth in the studio. He had never been jealous before, not until Lucky had returned, and it took him awhile to identify it. Carly had once explained jealousy to him as a feeling you got when someone hit you in the stomach and there was nothing you could do about it, but feel the punch every time to saw them. He had ignored her description, but now he realized that it was like she said, and he had been feeling it whenever he thought about Elizabeth with Lucky.

He looked around the bloody room, before crouching down, to see the scratch marks, Francis had mentioned. He ran his hand lightly over the marks.

__

"Why don't we dance instead? It would be a shame to waste our favorite song." Lucky's voice had come through the door, and he recognized the song, that Elizabeth had once asked him to dance with her too.

How could Lucky have changed so completely, that he could do this to her? 

__

"Jason he doesn't know about that time that you and I danced together and how I…how I pretended that it was him and it didn't work because it was you, he wouldn't understand, he would feel betrayed."

He knew Lucky had problems, but he never thought he was capable of this. He had underestimated Lucky and it had cost Elizabeth and Emily. He would never make that mistake again. He noticed a familiar looking black book on one of the shelves, it didn't have a speck of blood on it. Next to it was a plastic bag, with something black inside of it. He reached for both of them, wondering what else Lucky could have destroyed that belonged to her.

****

~Penthouse~

"Mike why the hell do you have Cal's cell phone?" Carly demanded.

__

"That's what I need to talk to Sonny about." Mike whispered moving into the stairway of the hospital. So far none of the cops had recognized Cal as someone who worked for Sonny but it was only a matter of time.

"Are you still at the hospital, is Cal?"

__

"Look Carly I need to talk to Sonny about this." Mike cut off her questions, keeping an eye on the waiting room, while he talked. "I'm almost done here, then I'm coming to the penthouse, make sure he is there."

"Mike you need to tell me what is going on before I decide whether to bother Sonny or not," she told him. She needed to get to the bottom of this and talk to Cal. "Look let me talk to Cal."

__

"Cal's dead." He snapped. He swallowed a curse when he saw Taggert enter the small waiting room. He needed to leave and now.

"Dead?" Carly repeated slowly. "How?"

__

"Look I'm on my way, and I'm serious Carly you need to get Sonny there. I need to talk to him, before, the police figure out who he works for." Mike said before closing the phone and heading down the stairs, he would go out through the service entrance.

Cal was dead, she didn't have to worry about what he would tell Sonny or Jason. Cal was dead, he wouldn't be bringing Michael all day suckers anymore. Cal was dead and her secret was safe. Cal was dead and she wasn't happy about it at all.

****

~Studio~

Jason stepped out of the closet, being careful not to add his own footprint to the one's already there. The plastic bag had traces of blood on it, so he set it on the back of the couch carefully and untied the knot at the top. It took him a minute, to recognize the contents of the bag, as black leather, it had been completely shredded.

He pulled some of the material out of the bag, the pieces were very precise and ordered. Each piece was the same size, but the cuts were jagged, like someone had sawed on it with a knife.

"He must have been very determined to shred leather like that." Johnny commented. "You got to be kidding me." He muttered when Jason pulled a retractable box cutter from the bag.

Jason dimly heard Johnny, he was trying to remember the last time he had seen her wear the jacket he had given her.

__

"No. I'll see you later." Elizabeth said with a teary smile, before springing to her feet and hurrying away.

She hadn't worn it once, that he'd seen last winter, he knew she had loved that jacket. So not wearing it must have been yet another concession she had made for Lucky. He wondered if Lucky knew it was a gift from him, or if he destroyed it because it was black leather. He dropped the material into the bag and turned his attention to the book.

__

~February 6, 2001~

"I just think that people." Jason frowned. "Even Nikolas should do what they want to do."

Elizabeth paused in putting things on her overcrowded table. "Well you say that but you don't. Carly and Sonny are living in the penthouse with cars and guards, and they have each other while you're stuck in this place." She turned to face him. "That can't be what you want."

He crossed his arms over his chest, studying her. "How do you know?" He asked softly. He saw her pale and begin to worry her bottom lip and went on. "Sonny and Carly are where they belong, I don't like penthouses. Not to live in anyway."

She turned back to the table. "I just don't think it's fair that you should be lurking around, guarding them."

He watched her straighten the same brushes for the third time, she was definitely nervous. "Are you sure that's what I'm doing?"

Her movements stilled, but she kept her eyes averted. "Well it's the only reason I can come up with as to why you are staying here."

He smirked to himself. There were dozens of reasons to stay here, the majority of them wrapped up in the bundle of nerves, standing beside him. "Well try not to think about that, except for me staying here, it has nothing to do with you."

His words caused her to turn and their eyes met for a long minute, before her nervousness took over again, and she tried to disguise it by moving quickly. She picked up a box from the table. "Whatever you say." She started for the couch only to drop the box, spilling the contents to the floor.

Jason crouched down immediately to pick things up. "I'll get it."

Elizabeth squatted as well, "No it's okay I've got it." She told him, her eyes met his when their hands closed over the same photo. She froze in place for a minute before tugging on the photo and looking down again.

"What's all this?" He could smell the subtle scent of her perfume.

"It's." She stopped, hurriedly shoving the photos back in the box. "It's what I was doing when you were meeting with Sonny." She stood setting the box on the table and taking a step back from him. "It's a scrapbook for Lucky of everything that happened the year he was gone."

He moved a step closer dropping a photo on the table. "So he knows all he missed?" It was so like her to do something like this. It shouldn't bother him because she was doing it for Lucky, but it did.

"The only thing I couldn't put in here was you." She looked up at him, her big expressive eyes drawing him closer, like they always seemed to do. Her voice even seemed to sound huskier when she went on. "I can't tell Lucky how it felt that night at Jake's when you rescued me and you listened." She paused her eyes searching his. "How it helped every time you took me riding. You're the one person who made me feel better and I can't put that in this book."

He edged closer still glad that it had meant as much to her as it had to him. That it meant enough to her that she didn't want to share it with another person, he only wished it meant more to her. "Well you don't need a book. You know how it felt, so did I."

She looked down at her hands for a long minute before focusing on him again. "Do you ever think about it?"

"All the time." He said honestly and it was true. When he and Sonny had discussed his return to Port Charles, one of the motivating factors that drove him was the realization that he would be able to see Elizabeth again. He needed to see if she was happy, to see if the feelings he'd had for her since last summer were still there, and if the glimpses of return feeling he'd thought he saw in her were there or not.

After he had said that she'd nervously left the studio. He wondered what would have happened if he had pushed that day. He knew now that she had been feeling the same things that he'd been feeling. He had suspected it then, but he hadn't wanted to pressure her, he wanted her to realize things on her own. Looking back was something he never allowed himself to do, but he couldn't help but wonder. If he had kissed her that day, where would they be now?

He opened the book, the inside front cover had been damaged. The words _Elizabeth and Lucky, Permanent Lock, Now and Forever_ had been painted across the pages in red. He knew instinctively that she hadn't done it. His suspicions were confirmed when he thumbed through the pages of the book.

Every photograph had been marred, if it was a shot of Elizabeth with someone else, the other person had been cut out and a picture of Lucky inserted. There were no pictures of other people, only Elizabeth and now Lucky, at the Nurses Ball in 1999, at Kelly's, her college, even a photo of her and Lulu had been changed. At the bottom of each page, painted in red, in childlike lettering were the words. _Permanent Lock._

The back of the book had about 5 empty pages, only they had been filled with writing, small writing, that continued over every square inch of the page. Jason squinted at the book, trying to bring the words in focus. He couldn't help the anger he felt, when he saw it was the same word repeated over and over again, hundreds upon hundreds of times. MINEMINEMINEMINEMINEMINEMINEMINEMINEMINEMINEMINEMINE there were no spaces in between the words only a continuous list.

"I'm guessing this isn't supposed to look like this." Sonny said from his side. Johnny had moved to the other side of the room and was talking with Francis, but he kept his voice low anyway.

"She had made him a memory book, to tell him all the things he had missed the year he was gone." He tilted the book so Sonny could see the writing. "It didn't look like this. He said he loved her, but all he wanted was to own her."

"We will find her and we'll find him Jason." Sonny said quietly. "I promise."

Jason shook his head, taking a step towards the closet, only to stop when Sonny grabbed his arm. 

"I said I promise Jason, and there is no way I'm letting this one go." Sonny vowed.

Jason looked in his eyes and saw that Sonny meant what he said. But he couldn't help remembering the other times he had promised, and a sense of anger that it awoke in him. He wasn't used to feeling so much anger towards Sonny. When Carly and him had happened, he had felt betrayed, hurt, and maybe a little angry, but nothing like this. "I can't do this with you now, I got to think of her."

Sonny nodded reluctantly and dropped his hand.

Jason put the book and bag, back where he had found them, then shut the door, closing out the smell again. He couldn't help but bring his right hand up and lay it beside the imprint of Lucky's right hand. His hand was bigger and no doubt stronger than Lucky's, but Lucky's was big enough to inflict damage on someone as small as Elizabeth, or Emily.

His eyes were drawn to the floor, following the trail of blood Francis had mentioned. He saw that there was another trail that looked bigger than the other. "You said there were three trails, Francis, what about the third?"

Francis had been hoping that Jason wouldn't remember that fact. He glanced at Sonny who nodded. "The third also originates from the closet, and is fairly heavy, I think it comes from the same person who was resting in the closet." He stopped, the words the woman who left the fingernail in the wood, went unsaid but were heavy in the air anyway. "The trail stops here." He pointed to a space in front of the couch. "After that spot the trail vanishes."

"What do you mean vanishes?" Johnny asked.

"There's nothing past that spot." Francis hoped he wouldn't have to go on.

Jason followed the trail to the spot on the floor, being careful to step only where he would leave no prints. "What he is trying not to say, is that from this point on, she either stopped bleeding, or was carried in something, so she didn't bleed anymore."

Francis nodded reluctantly, he didn't need to explain that it was more than likely she had been wrapped in something before being carried out of the studio. Because any other way would have left a sign of some sort. He didn't need to say it, because he watched the realization settle on Jason's face.

The ringing of Sonny's cell phone shattered the deafening silence in the studio, causing three of the occupants of the room to jump. The fourth remained immobile staring at the floor. 

"Yeah?" Sonny said.

__

"Sonny you need to come home."

"Carly are you okay?" Sonny asked.

__

"Yes, but you need to get here now."

"Is Emily worse?" he questioned he could hear the worry in her voice.

__

"No, its…I heard from Mike." She admitted reluctantly. "He…"

"Mike?" Sonny interrupted. "The last thing I want to hear about right now is Mike."

__

"Sonny listen to me, Mike called from the hospital, and he said that Cal is dead."

"What?" Guilt pierced him at her words, and he scrubbed his hand over his eyes. "Are you sure he said Cal?"

__

"Yes, he's on his way here to explain things."

"We'll be right there." Sonny said slowly switching off the phone.

"What happened to Cal?" Johnny asked.

"He's dead." Sonny kept his eyes on Jason, who had no reaction to the words. "We need to get to the penthouse."

"Jesus." Johnny muttered. Reynaldo brought in Cal and him at the same time, they liked to play the horses sometimes. Cal was a lot like Mike Corbin, looking for a win in gambling. But he had been different too, he only bet so much, and when he lost that, he walked away and never looked back.

__

"Cal's dead … I want you to find Lucky Spencer and sit on him … Cal's dead." The thoughts ran through Sonny's head while he crossed to Jason. He remembered the Donald Duck voices Cal would make too make Michael laugh.

"Jason." Sonny said moving in front of him, putting his hand on his arm, to get his attention, but Jason never even looked up. "Jason?' He tried again. The irony of the situation hit him, he wondered if this is what Jason saw, all those times he had tried to reach him, when he shut down.

Jason wasn't even aware Sonny was in the room. He had been thinking about Lucky carrying her out of the studio, when he realized something. The red drape she had used to hide the hideous and stained green of the sofa was gone. It wasn't anywhere in the studio, so that meant…. He tried to banish the image of Elizabeth wrapped in the drape, while Lucky carried her out of the studio, but he couldn't. He closed his eyes trying to clear his head, but she stayed there. Her pale face, so much paler, while Lucky closed the drape over her.

"Jason?" Sonny tried again shaking his shoulder, trying to get a reaction.

__

"I have to help him, I might be the only one who can. … She's dead."

In desperation Sonny yelled at Johnny. "Hit the memo button on her answering machine."

"Are you su…"

"Do it Johnny." Sonny snapped.

Johnny hurried to the table and hit the button on the machine.

__

"Hi. You've reached 555-6789 I'm probably ignoring you so leave me a message and I will call you back so you can yell at me."

Elizabeth's voice entered the studio, causing Jason's head to jerk up in response, and search the room for her. He didn't see her, and let his eyes rest on Sonny again. "You shouldn't have done that."

Sonny kept the relief from his face. "We need to leave."

Jason nodded but made no move to leave, his eyes drawn to the floor again. As bad as the studio was, he could still feel her in here, and he didn't want to walk away from that.

"Look I thought you said she was alive." Sonny pressed.

"She's not dead." Jason glared at him coldly.

"Well she might die, waiting for you to find her." Sonny challenged him, trying to make him angry again. He knew anger was a great motivator to keep someone moving. If he had to make Jason angry with him, to help him, he would do it. "Are you punishing her by making wait for you?"

"I am not punishing her." Temper had caused his voice to sound harsh.

"Well then let's leave, because she's not here, so that means she is somewhere else." Sonny taunted him, hating what he was doing to his friend, but knowing it was necessary. "Stay if you want Jason, but I'm not giving up on her, so I'm going to look elsewhere."

"I will never give up on her. Never." Jason vowed. The momentary doubt and unaccustomed fear that had paralyzed him, was gone and he was in control again.

Sonny headed for the door, giving orders the whole way. "Francis finish here, and run those tests. Let me know what you find out as soon as possible. Johnny contact Adam, and bring him up to date, and have him get on Lucky Spencer, wait have him pick up Max, and they both can look for him."

Johnny was pulling out his phone when he followed Sonny out of the door.

Jason paused in the door and turned back, his eyes sweeping the studio a final time. _"I know a place that'll be more private. Will you let me help you? … Gram rented this place for my birthday so I would have a place to work, almost no one knows about it._ … Most of the blood is centered over here between the couch and the window …_ Snow doesn't smell … You have to hide here on some sofa from a flea market … I bent over the sink and actually I kind of fell in … _She was more than likely carried out of here_ … Uzbekistan? Uhm it rains there when you forget your umbrella … More than a friend is okay that's how I feel about you … having you around was kind of like switching on a light switch … _We found a decapitated cat_ … Elizabeth there's a bomb … _Her studio destroyed, blood everywhere _… You really matter to me, we're clear on that right? You helped me discover the wind … It's perfect here …_ There are three distinct blood trails_ … Sometimes the thing you had, no matter how good it seems, isn't right for you anymore … When I imagine seeing Italy I imagine I'm with you … I will lean on you as long as you let me … _What's in the closet is blood no paint at all _… I won't come to you again, but I won't turn you away if you come to me_ … I found a part of a fingernail embedded in the wood _… I hope I never see you again._"

"Jason."

Sonny's voice pulled him from the memories he sighed heavily and shut the door, his eye lingering on the streak of blood before moving down the hall.

****

~GH E.R.~

Taggert opened his eyes. "Gia why are you here? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine it's Nikolas." Gia explained dropping down beside her brother.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Some firecrackers spooked Sheba and when he was trying to get her back in the stall, she kicked him. He's here getting x-rays." She explained. "You look tired."

"I am," he scrubbed his face. "Are you coming to the picnic? Mom wants to see you."

"Don't you mean she wants to lecture me?" she corrected.

"Gia you know how she is, if you bend a little so will…"

"Don't give me that you moved to another town to get away from her lectures." She interrupted him her eyes flashing in temper.

He was opening his mouth to retort when he saw Monica Quartermaine coming down the hall. "Excuse me for a minute." He said leaving her to cross to the doctor. "Dr. Quartermaine?"

Monica looked up at him with a frown. "I'm busy Taggert." She said briskly continuing to the Nurse's desk and requesting a chart.

"I'm investigating Mrs. Hardy's shooting, I need to know how she is." Taggert explained following her. He knew he was tired, so he was probably punchy, but he was getting damn tired of people's reactions to him.

"She made it through surgery, the next 24 hours will be critical, if she can make it through them her survival rate increases dramatically." Monica told him using her lecture voice, not even sparing him a glance.

"When can I see her?"

"Talk to me after 24 hours," she walked away.

"I need to question her as soon as possible," he continued to press her.

Monica turned on him. "And I need her alive. Guess what? My needs outweigh yours."

He stepped closer to her. "I'm just doing my job here."

"So am I." Monica retorted.

"Isn't it time you got past this anger. What happened was a few years ago. How long are you going to carry a grudge?" He asked her back, when she walked away.

She whirled around, tiredness forgotten, as she tool a step towards him in anger. "A grudge? Is that what you think I'm carrying? You blackmail me, by using one of the worse things that my husband had gone through, so you can try to arrest my son." She poked him hard in the chest. "You expect me to forget about that?"

"I was doing my job." Taggert said stubbornly. "Your son is a criminal."

"So are you." She cried before lowering her voice. "You hold yourself out to be this above reproach cop, yet you blackmail me to try to get me to turn on my son. You're nothing but a criminal and a hypocrite." With that she stalked away.

He bowed his head, he wasn't exactly proud of what he has tried to do with her. But sometimes the ends had to justify the means.

"That looked intense." Gia commented from behind him.

Taggert turned around and focused on the man who had come up behind her. "Nikolas."

"Are you okay?" Gia went to his side in concern.

"Yes like I told you, no ribs were broken, only bruised." Nikolas slipped an arm around her and kissed her lightly.

"Nikolas do you know where I could find Elizabeth Webber?" Taggert asked trying to ignore the image of his sister with her live-in lover.

"Elizabeth?' Nikolas repeated. "Why?"

"I need to speak with her as soon as possible."

"Did the perfect princess jaywalk or something?" Gia asked cattily.

"Gia." Nikolas frowned at her in warning. "Why do you need to talk to her?"

"Mrs. Hardy was shot last night." Taggert said finally.

"God how bad is she hurt?" Nikolas demanded.

"It doesn't look good." Taggert admitted. "That's one of the reasons I need to find Elizabeth. There is no answer at her apartment at Kelly's."

"She went out of town." Nikolas murmured, trying to comprehend the fact that Mrs. Hardy had been shot. "She hasn't been feeling well lately, so Lucky took her out of town for the weekend, they were supposed to leave last night."

"Do you know where they went?"

"No. She was so sick, I wasn't sure they would go at all. But Lucky left me a note last night, saying they would be back on Monday. I don't know where they went, he didn't tell me." Nikolas explained. Gia had taken his hand to offer comfort and he squeezed it gratefully.

Taggert sighed. "Do you think you could find out?"

"Yes." Nikolas nodded trying to focus. "I'll check with Emily and Laura. I'd ask Luke." He stopped himself with a frown. "But he left town a few weeks ago and as usual no one knows where he is. I'll check their rooms and the studio, maybe they left some information there."

"Good, let me know if you find out anything." Taggert said.

"How bad is she hurt?"

Taggert faced him and told him the truth. "I'd hurry Nikolas, I'd tell her to hurry."

****

~Lucky~

Lucky studied the building carefully from his spot in the bushes across the street. He needed to be careful not to get caught. Something wasn't right here, he could feel it. He needed to have a clear head before he made his move.

His hand tightened reflexively on the gun, when a car drove by. Now was the time. He quickly left the bushes and sprinted across the street.

****

~Penthouse~

"Jason." Carly cried rushing to hug him when he walked through the door. She realized he didn't bring his arms up to hold her back, and that made her cling even tighter, trying to offer comfort.

"Is Mike here yet?' Sonny asked when she stepped back.

Carly looked at him, her eyes bright with unshed tears. "Not yet." She tugged on Jason's coat. "Come on let's get this jacket off, it has to be 86 degrees already." Jason made no effort to speak but took off the coat willingly enough. She took his hand and he let her pull him to the couch. She had never seen him like this. Even those times he had been shot, he had shown a lot of life, but this was like he had shut down entirely. That was how Sonny dealt with things not Jason, and it worried her.

"Johnny stay inside." Sonny said when Johnny began to close the door.

Johnny nodded and let Pete close the door behind him, before heading further inside the room. He didn't know what he was supposed to do, should he sit or stand? He realized he had just gotten a promotion, the only thing was, he didn't want it, not like this.

****

~GH~ 

"Bobbie, if she wakes up someone needs to be there, to take down anything and everything she says." Taggert explained for the fifth time.

"No. I won't have her recovery jeopardized by questions." Bobbie snapped looking through the window of I.C.U. to watch an orderly settle Audrey in the room.

"The last thing I want is for her to die," he said honestly. "I just want to know who did this to her. Can't you understand that the only way I can help her, is to find that person?"

She sighed tiredly. "If she wakes up a nurse will be with her, and will write down whatever she says, but we won't question her."

"Fine," he knew enough to quit while he was ahead. He turned and walked out of I.C.U. heading for the elevators.

"Hey Lieutenant."

Taggert turned at the hail. "Johnson," he said recognizing the officer. "What are you doing here?"

"We found a guy who was beaten to death on Elm." Jason said falling into step with the Lieutenant. "Does the name Cal Rogers mean anything to you? I know I've heard it but I can't place it."

Taggert came to a stop with a lurch, his hand hovering over the elevator call button. "Yeah he's hired muscle for Corinthos."

"That's where I knew it from." He saw the interest in Taggert's eyes, and realized his case just got a lot more interesting, and his work load a lot heavier.

"Why?" Taggert demanded.

"He was the victim." Johnson told him.

"Anyone else?" The streets had been quiet ever since Sorel had been put on death row, but they were never quiet for long, not where the mob was concerned.

"No. But there was something interesting." Johnson drawled, milking the attention of the Lieutenant, knowing he would never rise to that rank himself, he liked to make the brass wait. "He had a holster but no gun."

****

~Studio~

Francis picked up the bag, slung it over his shoulder, and opened the door slightly, seeing that the hallway was empty he stepped out leaving the door slightly ajar like they had found it. He pulled off his gloves and headed for the still darkened stairs.

He wanted to get the tests done as soon as possible, so he could help find Lucky and Elizabeth. Jason thought she was still alive and that was enough for him. He popped the trunk on the Buick and put the bag, in the trunk, before heading for his driver's door.

He had just opened the door, when his spider senses tingled in warning. His hand moved for his gun, the same time he felt a gun press to the back of his head.

"I knew it was only a matter of time before one of his flunkies showed up."

"Lucky?" Francis asked recognizing the voice.

Lucky reached around him and pulled the gun free dropping it to the pavement with a thud. "Turn around."

Francis turned slowly, training kept his eyes and face placid, when he took in Lucky's appearance. There was blood on his clothes and scratches on his face, but it was the eyes that concerned him. His ex-partner had eyes like that the day he snapped, killing his family, and 6 other cops, before a wounded Francis had finally managed to kill him. Madness had its grip on Lucky Spencer, and that wasn't good for anyone.

"What's wrong Lucky?' Francis asked keeping his voice casual.

Lucky pressed the gun to the bottom of Francis's chin. "You don't ask the questions here, I do." He moved Francis with the gun, before backing slowly in the car, keeping a hand on Francis's shirt pulling him down as well, so the gun never broke contact with Francis. "Drive." He ordered once Francis was seated.

"Where?"

Lucky tapped Francis's temple with the gun hard enough to make his eyes sting. "I told you not to ask questions."

Francis blinked clearing the pain and started the engine. "I just need to know which way to aim the car Lucky, that's all."

That seemed to confuse Lucky for a minute, his eyes went hazy, but the hand holding the gun to his temple, stayed firm.

Finally a slow smile slid over Lucky's face. "We're going to see Elizabeth."

Francis felt a surge of hope at those words and put the car in gear.

****

~Penthouse~

"Has he said anything?" Carly whispered to Sonny, looking at Jason who had moved to stand by the window. "I've never seen him like this, not even when Michael was kidnapped."

"This has hit him hard Carly." Sonny answered softly. "He's hanging on by a thread."

"What are we going to do to help him?"

"Be here in case he starts to fall." Sonny told her.

"J-jason?"

The soft voice pulled Jason from his thoughts, and he turned to look at his sister who was on the stairs. He saw the effects of Lucky's violence staring back at him through bruises, and haunted eyes. "Emily." He said crossing to her. For that minute his concern and guilt over Elizabeth was forgotten, while he pulled his trembling sister into an embrace.

"It's okay I'm here." He repeated running his hand carefully over her hair, taking her weight, when she leaned against him.

"I'm sorry, so sorry." It was all she could say. She was afraid to look in his eyes, afraid to see the hurt and anger that had to be there.

"Emily." Jason heard the words and pulled back, lightly taking her chin to force her to look up at him. "You did nothing wrong."

She saw nothing but love and concern in his eyes, both of which were directed at her, and the tears started. "Yes I did, I let her down, I let you down, I let her die."

Jason shook his head. "No you didn't. None of this is your fault. I'll find Elizabeth and no one will ever hurt you two again."

Emily stared at him in horror. "Oh God, you don't know?"

"Know what Emily?" Jason asked.

Sonny moved closer, he had a feeling that this was going to be bad.

"I saw." She stopped and took a deep breath. "She's dead. I saw Lucky kill her." She moaned and slid to the floor when Jason let go of her abruptly. "I saw him kill her."


	9. Unraveling

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Disclaimer: I'm severely abusing in this fic I know it. But at least I don't claim ownership.

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Distribution: I doubt anyone wants it, but ask me first.

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Steph's Babble: I know this is a dark fic, especially as compared to the other stories that I am currently putting on this board. But I would really like to hear from you, whether you like it or hate it and why. So why don't you make my week and reply?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

****

Her Greatest Mistake

Chapter 8

****

~Penthouse~

Sonny moved quickly, picking Emily up and carrying her to the couch. Carly sat down beside her and the sobbing girl turned into her, to cry on her shoulder. Carly patted her back and whispered words to soothe her.

Sonny looked over at Jason who had moved to stand in front of the window. He was heading towards him when Pete tapped on the door. He glanced at Johnny who moved towards the door.

"What?" Johnny asked quietly opening the door.

"Mike Corbin's here," Pete gestured to the man behind him.

"Just a minute," Johnny sighed heavily, he wasn't ready to hear about Cal.

"Johnny its important that I speak to Sonny," Mike spoke quickly. "This isn't about me this time."

"I know Mike give me a minute," Johnny closed the door and cleared his throat catching Sonny's attention.

"I'll be right back Jason," getting no response from him Sonny sighed and headed for Johnny. "What?"

"Mike's here."

"Damn," he looked back in the room. Emily was still crying on the couch and Jason was immobile at the window. "We'll have to do it outside. When was the hall swept last?"

"It was swept this morning for bugs, I mean yesterday morning," Johnny looked at his watch, 7:25. "About 24 hours ago."

"We'll risk it," Sonny opened the door and moved into the hall, with Johnny right behind him. He held up his hand when Mike started to speak. "Pete I want you over by Alexis' door, if it opens yell, if you hear the elevator, yell."

Pete nodded and moved across the hall.

"What happened Mike?"

Mike looked past Sonny to the closed Penthouse door but decided not to say anything. "I was heading home on Elm Street, by the docks and I tripped over this guy. I didn't recognize him at first, but when I did I realized it was Cal."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, he was still alive then."

Johnny winched at the word then. He hadn't dealt with the fact that Cal was dead yet. He knew that his job was high risk. He learned that first hand when his friend Reynaldo went out one night with Jason and never came back. But this had nothing to do with work, it wasn't supposed to be a dangerous assignment. He was just supposed to find a boy, and instead Cal wound up dead.

"What happened to him? Was he shot?" Sonny kept his voice even. He needed a cool head to handle this for everyone.

"No, he was beaten to death," Mike swallowed hard at the blunt words. "I saw a car nearby with blood on the trunk. There were indentions, it looked like someone bashed his head against it several times." He shuddered remembering how misshapen the back of the head had been, then went on almost talking to himself. "Frank said he hemorrhaged to death, that more than likely some of the bones in his skull broke off and entered his brain."

Sonny rubbed his hand over his face, Cal was twice divorced, but he still supported both ex-wives. He also had a 48-year old ex-showgirl mother who had her own place on the New Jersey boardwalk. He had always promised Cal that he would drop by the place sometime and meet her. But he never had, now the first time he would meet her, it would be to tell her that her son was dead. He banished that thought and focused on the problem at hand. "Do the cops know who he is yet?"

"Not yet. I didn't tell them I knew who he was, but Taggert showed up as I was leaving. He didn't see me, but it's only a matter of time."

Sonny closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall, Taggert. He had been hoping to get Lucky before the police got involved. But if Taggert was on the case, it was only a matter of time before he showed up here.

"Did he say anything?" Johnny asked.

Sonny opened his eyes at the question. Johnny was proving himself more and more as time went on.

"Yes but it didn't make sense," Mike looked at Sonny. "He said Spencer. I had been talking to him about playing cards at Luke's so I thought that was what he meant. But he said no, then he said it Spencer, like he meant it was Spencer who did this." He watched Sonny's eyes close in reaction. "But Luke is out of town so that leaves…" he trailed off horrified. "Lucky did it?"

"Did you tell the police this?" Sonny ignored the question.

"No, but there's something else, Cal's gun was missing."

****

~Car~

Lucky moved the gun so it was on Francis' neck. It was early enough in the day that there was little traffic, so there was little chance of someone seeing the gun. "Hurry up."

"I still don't know where we're going Lucky," Francis pressed the accelerator a little harder sending the car up over 40 mph. They were in a residential section and the last thing he wanted was to attract the attention of a cop. He knew from personal experience that cops tended to be cranky when they had to work major holidays. So they would stop any car at any infraction to share their displeasure with the public.

"I told you we're going to see Elizabeth," Lucky snapped. "Turn left at the next corner."

"So Lucky how is Elizabeth? I haven't seen her in awhile." Long forgotten information on what to do in a hostage situation was coming back to him. He had read about it when he was in the police academy, but that didn't really count. He always used the GIGO method of studying. Garbage in before the test, and Garbage out after the test. Surprisingly some information was coming back to him though. Things like keeping the aggressor talking, trying to form a personal bond, use the person's name and establish a rapport to make them aware you were a person too. Keep it friendly don't antagonize them, don't attack them. It was those last two ideas that he was having problems with. He wanted nothing more than to attack Lucky. But between the gun and the fact that Lucky was lucid at the moment, he knew better than to try anything. Besides Lucky seemed to be directing him to Elizabeth, and until he knew where she was, he wasn't going to risk her life. "Say are you two kids engaged yet?"

"Not yet but we will be. It's only a matter of time, because we are forever," Lucky vowed glancing back at the image of Elizabeth in a wedding dress that had appeared in the back seat. "Right Elizabeth?"

__

"Right Lucky you have my heart, that's a permanent lock."

Francis glanced in the rearview mirror, and saw no one, Lucky was beginning to lose it again. He tensed and waited for his opportunity, he had a faint idea where they were heading.

"Turn right now."

Francis obeyed automatically, his eyes on the rearview again, no one was behind him, and they were nearing the outskirts of town. So far so good.

"Permanent lock, although your boss tried to break it," Lucky frowned and pressed the gun harder into his neck. "But he couldn't because permanent is forever."

"No you and Elizabeth are destined," Francis agreed. "Is she waiting for you?"

"Of course she is. She always waits for me." Lucky's eyes went cloudy when a memory trickled in.

__

"Lucky," Elizabeth took his hand and led him to a table, in the deserted diner. "You were dead. I had to let you go, before the grief and loss destroyed me. I couldn't wait around anymore. My life was passing me by, I knew you wouldn't want that. So I let you go and moved on. If I didn't I would have died too."

"But I wasn't dead Elizabeth," his hand tightened on hers. "I was alive and fighting to come back to you. You just had to wait for me."

"But I didn't know that, to me you were dead, I had to let go."

"So what you moved on to Jason?" His hand tightened painfully on hers, causing her to cry out.

"It wasn't like that," she wrenched her hand from his and got to her feet.

"That's what you say now, but I don't believe you," he stood as well. "You've lied to me a lot lately, especially about Jason."

"Lucky why does every conversation we have seem to come back to Jason?" she demanded placing her hands on her hips.

"Because you can't stop thinking about him," he yelled clenching his fists in anger.

She wearily shook her head, "You were the one who brought him up, not me. I was just trying to explain to you how and why I changed. Why I'm not the same person you first fell in love with anymore."

"You changed because you wouldn't wait for me. Jesus Elizabeth I hadn't even been dead a year." She turned to walk away and that infuriated him. "Tell me did you crawl into bed with Jason the night of the fire, or did you wait a week out of respect for the dead?"

She sucked in a breath and slapped him hard across the face. "How dare you."

Lucky responded without even thinking about it. One instant she was standing in front of him with anger and hurt in her eyes and the next she was on the floor, in the midst of the broken table, after he had punched her.

"Why couldn't you have waited Elizabeth?" Lucky asked softly moving the gun away from Francis to scratch at his temple.

"Elizabeth did wait Lucky," Francis said softly while easing off the gas to slow the car down. Lucky's eyes were hazy again, and he knew where they were going, it was time.

"It's all Jason's fault," Lucky blazed to life suddenly.

With one last look in the rearview mirror Francis made his move.

****

~Penthouse~

Sonny walked back into the Penthouse and noticed that not much had changed. Carly was rocking Emily on the couch and Jason hadn't moved. He turned back to Johnny, "When she calms down take her back upstairs."

Johnny nodded and headed for the couch.

"Jason you need to snap out of this, you don't freeze up, you react." Sonny spoke softly from behind him. "Your sister needs you. Are you going to let her down?" He received no response from Jason and he bowed his head not knowing what to do.

"Too."

Sonny's head whipped up, "What?"

"You forgot the word too," he turned and saw Sonny's blank look. "You should have said are you going to let her down too."

"You didn't let Elizabeth down," Sonny argued.

"I left her. What do you call that?"

"If you really believe that then you need to get a gun and shoot me," Sonny spoke quietly but it didn't diminish the power of his words. "You left because I asked you too. You thought she would be okay because you asked me to look after her. You didn't let her down, I let you down and her down. I'm the one to blame."

Jason showed no reaction to the words.

"Or maybe Emily's right and it's her fault because she didn't stay close to Elizabeth. Maybe it's Tammy's fault because she didn't see what was happening in her own place." Blame was a destructive weapon and it wouldn't do Jason any good if he got lost in it right now. "Maybe it's Luke and Laura's fault after all they are his parents," he moved closer. "Or maybe it's Elizabeth's fault because she never asked for help."

Jason turned around to face the window again.

Sonny reached into his pocket and pulled out the sketch Elizabeth had drawn of Michael. He slammed it against the windowpane right in front of Jason. "Does it look like she cared whose fault it was? Look at it," he ordered. "She drew this in the midst of all this. Do you really think she would give a rat's ass over who feels guilty or who is to blame?"

Jason focused on the picture, all he could see was lines. He needed her to make him see it. "Who is it?"

Sonny lost part of his anger at Jason's question, he had forgotten Jason's problem with pictures, maps, drawings. "She drew a picture of Michael in the sandbox and she had to have done it in the last two weeks. Jason it's him right down to the glint he gets in his eye when he's done something he is going to get in trouble for. She drew this in the middle of all this madness, do you really think she cares who is to blame?"

Jason reached out and traced a finger over one of the dark lines on the paper. He still couldn't see it, and he wanted too. He wanted to see Michael through her eyes. For that to happen he needed to find her and have her explain the picture. "Can I have this?"

"Of course," Sonny handed him the picture and watched while Jason stared at it for a long time. When he looked up Sonny could see the resolve in his eyes. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," Jason tucked the sketch in his back pocket and moved over to the couch and Emily. He sat on the ottoman directly in front of her, and picked up her hand, "Emily."

She had stopped crying but still had her head on Carly's shoulder, she gave no reaction that she heard him.

"Emily," his voice was stronger and he pulled on her hand. "Look at me."

Emily was pulled back by her brother's voice and she turned her head to look at him.

"You okay?" He asked when he saw the pain in her eyes.

She nodded.

"I need you to talk to me Emily. Do you think you can do that?" He took her other hand and watched her shift away from Carly so she was sitting squarely in front of him. "Can you?"

"Y-yes."

"Good. I need for you to tell me what happened yesterday."

She shook her head, "You don't want to know."

"Yes I do. You'll be fine. Remember I'm right here, and I will love you no matter what. Nothing will ever change that."

"Really?" She wanted to believe that.

"Really," he shifted closer. "Why don't you start off with breakfast. What did you have?" He was going to ease into this, he didn't want to push her anymore then he had too. She had been hurt enough.

"Breakfast," she sighed. "That's where it all started, with breakfast at Kelly's with Zander. I still work there, even though I moved home. I was supposed to work the afternoon shift, and Elizabeth was doing a swing the morning and then close. But that changed and it made me mad. Elizabeth had been making me mad a lot lately."

__

"Thanks again Tammy," Lucky called heading for the door, he veered off to pause by Emily's table. "Hey Em," he glanced at her companion and his voice lost the warmth, "Zander."

Zander nodded back but kept eating.

"Why were you thanking Tammy?" Emily asked in an effort to keep the conversation civil. She was getting tired of always having to defend Zander to her friends. She wished they would give him a shot, so they could see what a wonderful guy he really was.

"Oh Tammy just did Elizabeth and me a huge favor," Lucky replied with a smile.

"What's that?"

"She gave Elizabeth the weekend off." Lucky went on oblivious to the stunned look on Emily's face. "She has been so sick recently that I thought a few days alone in the country will be good for her and us. Tammy agreed so we're going to leave tonight."

"What about her shifts here?" Emily managed to get the question out although it was hard, to force the words past the anger she was feeling. She felt Zander tap his foot on hers and she looked at him. He shook his head slightly trying to stop her from going off.

"Tammy said she'd get people to cover the shifts," Lucky looked at his watch. "I got to go I have a shoot with Gia," he snitched a slice of bacon from her plate and headed for the door. "Happy Independence Day Em."

"Take a deep breath and think about it," Zander spoke as soon as he left.

"I'm sick of this. Just because she's worked here the longest Tammy lets her get away with everything," she snapped. "How many times in the last two months have we had to change our plans because Elizabeth needed time off? How many nights have she been to ill to work, but not to sick to be with Lucky." She was so angry at the unfairness of the situation she wanted to scream. "She's missed two days this week already but she's fine enough to go out of town with Lucky. I'm sick of it, I'm sick of her."

"Emily I know you two haven't been getting along since Jason left, but you can't mean you're ready to end the friendship."

"That's exactly what I mean. I don't even know who Elizabeth is anymore," she pushed back her chair. "I'm going to tell her that I am fed up with her behavior, and I'll be damned if I pick up anymore of her shifts." She searched the diner for Elizabeth but didn't see her, "I'll be right back Zander." She headed for the stairs.

"I was mad at her, we haven't been getting along for weeks now, and I'd finally had enough," Emily averted her eyes. "I couldn't even stand to be around her anymore. It was like she had turned into another person. When you did see her she didn't look good. She barely left Lucky's side. I didn't know why she was acting like that, I just knew she bothered me."

"You said she's been sick a lot, do you know when that started?" Jason asked although he really didn't want to know how long the abuse had been going on.

"Since around the second week in May I guess. She seemed to miss at least one day of work or school a week. In fact she didn't even sign up for summer session like she had been planning to. This all started right after the Face of Deception competition ended." Emily looked up, "At first I thought she was just sulking because she lost, but then Laura told me that Elizabeth had come to her, and told her to choose Gia because she didn't want the job."

Carly jerked in surprise at that, she thought she had tricked Laura into naming Gia. She thought back to Laura's speech at the Deception party and realized that Laura had been prepared to talk about Gia. Thinking about it now she remembered the look of surprise on Nikolas and Lucky's faces but there was relief on Elizabeth's in fact she even mouthed the words thank you to Laura.

Sonny couldn't help but be reminded how many times his mother had told him and his neighbors that she was just sick. She was too ill with the stomach flu to make breakfast. Only the stomach flu always arrived courtesy of Deke's fists. No one believed her, yet she kept saying she was sick. Finally he had stopped asking, he didn't want to make her lie to him anymore.

"I charged up the stairs to have it out with her," Emily went on her eyes searching Jason's for censure but she saw only concern in them. "It wasn't just work, it was lots of things. I thought she was trying to keep Lucky to herself. If I made plans with him, she showed up, it was the same with Nikolas. She wouldn't let anyone be alone with Lucky and that bothered me. Suddenly she was so possessive of Lucky after months of acting like she wanted to get away from him. It all coincided with you leaving, so that really bothered me."

Jason kept his expression bland, he was afraid he knew why she had been with Lucky all the time. He was grateful that his sister seemed too numb to figure out what Elizabeth's actions had really meant. "Go on Emily."

"I raised my hand to knock, and I noticed the door wasn't latched tightly, so I pushed the door open," she swallowed hard and when she went on her voice was a whisper. "I wasn't prepared for what I saw…"

__

"Eliz…" the name died in her throat when Emily pushed the door open. All the anger she had disappeared in a second, when she focused on her friend.

Elizabeth had her back to her and was in the process of pulling on a green t-shirt. Emily's breath caught when she saw the dark bruises and welts that criss-crossed her friend's back. She could see livid scrapes, and indentions that marred the once smooth skin. Elizabeth's movements were stiff and slow when she pulled the shirt over her head, covering the two bloody bandages at the base of the spine. Her groan of pain brought Emily's voice back. "What the hell happened to you?"

Elizabeth whirled around at the words. "Emily you startled me."

"What happened?" Emily demanded walking closer, she could see the imprints of someone's hands high up on her arms around her biceps. "Who hurt you?"

"No one," Elizabeth reached for the long sleeved, lightweight, cardigan on her bed and pulled it on slowly. "It was an accident."

"How could that be an accident?" Emily pressed, concern for her friend washed away all the hard words of the last few months.

"I-I fell down the stairs," Elizabeth brushed by Emily to go to the dresser. "It's no big deal, I'm fine."

"Fine? Elizabeth have you looked at yourself?" She shook her head in disbelief. "What about the grip marks on your arms?"

Elizabeth dropped the hairbrush and slowly bent to retrieve it. "Lucky tried to catch me, but he couldn't." She kept her eyes away from Emily's gaze, "What did you need?" 

Emily studied her she hadn't met her eyes once. But that was nothing new, Elizabeth hadn't looked her in the eyes for weeks now. She heard the disinterest in Elizabeth's voice and some of the anger came back. "I wanted to tell you that I'm not going along with this anymore."

"Along with what?" Elizabeth walked to the bed, picked up her apron and began to fold it.

"You bailing out of work yet again," Emily crossed her arms over her chest. "If you're well enough to go out of town, then you're well enough to work. You're not the only one who has plans you know. I know I am speaking for the others when I say we are getting damned tired of picking up the slack for you."

"I'm not going out of town."

"Yes you are. Lucky said he's taking you out of town for the weekend and Tammy agreed to give you time off."

Elizabeth lost her color and dropped to the bed, "O-out of town?"

"Yes and as usual Tammy said sure sweetie it's fine, but it's not fine. I'm not doing this for you anymore." Emily warned her trying to sound firm, but she couldn't help but notice how stricken Elizabeth looked. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes," she got to her feet, resting one hand on the headboard to steady herself. "I won't be going out of town Emily, so don't worry about changing your plans."

Suddenly unsure Emily paused. "You don't look good, I can work for you tonight if you want to rest. But I don't think you should go out of town."

"I won't Emily, the last thing I can do is go out of town, its time to end this."

"What?" Emily asked.

"I'm sorry this has been so hard on you, I'll try to do better," Elizabeth walked to the door and opened it.

Emily nodded and moved towards the door, pausing in the entryway. "Elizabeth I know we're not close anymore, but if you ever need to talk, I'm willing to listen." Elizabeth finally met her eyes and for a minute Emily could see relief and hope fill her eyes, before she lowered them again.

"Thanks Emily, you're too good to me. I'll work tonight, I'm sure you and Zander have plans, have fun." Elizabeth began to close the door.

Emily took a step away, then stopped, her mind replaying all the times that Elizabeth had helped her in the past. From their first meeting when Emily had returned to school after her overdose, and Elizabeth stood up for her. To the awful morning after the rave when she thought she might have killed someone, and had been raped. Elizabeth had been there for her every step of the way. She turned around, "Maybe we could get together some time, just the two of us, and catch up."

Elizabeth's eyes filled, "I would like that, I've missed you." She moved towards Emily as if to hug her only to stop and grimace in pain. "Maybe in a few weeks, when I feel better, I'll call you," she finished stepping back into the doorway.

Emily sighed in disappointment, "Whatever." She turned and headed for the stairs, she knew that Elizabeth wouldn't call.

"She had been promising to get together with me for weeks now, but she never did." Emily brought herself out of the memory with a sigh. "If she wasn't at work she was with Lucky. She was always with Lucky."

"That's good Emily you're doing fine," Sonny patted her shoulder.

"Oh god," Emily cried out startling everyone. "She was always with Lucky, she wouldn't let anyone else be alone with him. I got mad about that, I accused her of wanting to keep Lucky to herself…" She trailed off, horror filling her normally soft brown eyes. "She-she was protecting me, everyone from him, wasn't she?"

"Calm down Emily," Jason said immediately when he saw how upset she was getting.

"God Jason I yelled at her, I-I…Oh god Lulu."

"What about Lulu?" Carly asked quickly. Concern for the little girl causing her to break her silence.

"Lucky and Lulu were going to spend the afternoon together about two weeks ago. I overheard Elizabeth begging Lucky to let her go along, she kept saying she was sorry. But Lucky said no, he said," she paused trying to remember the words, then paled even further when she did. "He said it was time for both Lulu and her learned what happened in the real world, when you disobey. It didn't make any sense to me, but when Lulu came into Kelly's to meet Lucky, Elizabeth tripped and spilled a whole tray of milkshakes on the little girl, so she had to go home."

Emily was quiet for a minute, she felt her stomach twist in knots, and perspiration formed on her brow. "I accused her of doing it on purpose, and Lucky overheard us arguing," she looked up at Jason and pushed back the nausea she was feeling to continue on. "Elizabeth got sick that night, and couldn't get out of bed the next day, Lucky said it was the stomach flu."

Sonny flinched at her words. _"Michael I'm sorry I'm just too sick this morning, you'll have to make your own lunch. Don't forget to clean up, you know Deke hates it when the kitchen is messy."_

Carly reached behind Emily to touch his shoulder in comfort, she knew how hard this must be for him to hear. He looked at her blindly for a minute before focusing on Emily who was holding her stomach and rocking herself.

"But it wasn't the stomach flu was it?" Emily moaned and covered her mouth, "Jas…"

Jason moved quickly, picking her up from the couch and hurrying for the bathroom that was off the kitchen.

"Sonny are you okay?" Carly shifted on the couch and took his hand. She glanced at Johnny and he got up and moved towards the table to give them privacy.

"I can't help remembering," Sonny admitted rubbing wearily at his face. "When Deke first started in on her, I tried to interfere, and she would protect me. She was barely 5'0" but she would try to protect me. Eventually it got to be too much for her." He looked at his hand and closed it into a fist. He studied it before he brought it up next to Carly's face. "With the difference in our sizes, its close to the difference between Elizabeth and Lucky. You see how big my fist is next to your face? Do you see what kind of damage I could do? With my mother and Deke, it was more extreme, more like Jason and Elizabeth, he was a lot bigger than her." He frowned at his hand again, "but this would still do the damage."

She cupped his fist in her hand and brought it to her mouth to kiss it, he rarely discussed his mother, she knew he must be reeling to mention her now. "She tried to save you Sonny, she loved you."

"Yes she did, but in the end she was more afraid of Deke and what he would do." He had wanted to save her, but she wouldn't let him. In the end he wasn't even able to kill Deke. Someone else had beaten him to it, Deke was found dead in an alley and he had been none the wiser. Was Elizabeth lying dead in an alley somewhere? All because she had tried to protect everybody else, including Lucky? Had she sacrificed her life to do it? If so he had failed to save another woman.

****

~P.C.P.D.~

Taggert slammed the phone down in disgust, "Damn Whitey where the hell are you?" He glanced at his watch, 7:55. Officially he was off duty, but there was no way he was leaving before he had a better handle on what had happened last night, both with Audrey Hardy's shooting and Cal Rogers' murder.

He concentrated on the file in front of him until the words started to swim. Swearing under his breath he headed for the coffee machine and dumped the dregs of the pot in his cup. He followed it up with about 6 sugar cubes. He rubbed at the back of his neck, trying to work out the knots that seemed to have taken up permanent residence there.

"Rough night?"

Taggert turned around, "Long one. How about you?"

"I slept like a baby Marcus." Detective Ray Garcia taunted him, sipping his latte he had brought with him from the Java Hut. "It must have been rough if you're trying to drink that stuff."

"There was a shooting and a murder last night," Taggert headed for his desk and handed Garcia a couple of files.

The coffee cup was set down hard enough to splash some over the rim when Garcia read the name on the file. "Audrey Hardy was shot? Do we have any leads?" He'd had several dealings with Mrs. Hardy through the years, when Greg Cooper had shot her, and also through her granddaughter Elizabeth.

"Not so far, I'm waiting for forensics to come back on that one. Recognize the other name?"

Garcia glanced at the other file, "Rogers, one of Sonny's guards got hit last night?"

"Oh he was hit more than once, in fact he was beaten to death. Preliminary autopsy says several bones were broken in his head and driven into his brain." Taggert propped his feet up on the desk. "There's more, I got a tip from a buddy who works at the airport, you'll never guess who got into Port Charles about 4:00 in the morning."

Garcia leaned against the desk, "Judging from your grin, I would say it was Jason Morgan."

"You're right, one of Sonny's boys is hit, and anger boy arrives about the same time. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Things are going to get nasty." 

Taggert nodded, "It might be starting sooner than you think. It seems Rogers' gun was missing."

Garcia frowned at the file, "What kind of weapon are we talking about?"

"It was a .38." A hand slapped a paper bag, holding a spent shell casing on Taggert's desk, forcing his attention off of Garcia.

"What Whitey?" He turned to frown at Dr. Aaron "Whitey" Ford, the resident forensic guru.

****

~Penthouse~

Emily walked back into the room leaning heavily on Jason.

"Johnny you want to get her some water?" Jason asked helping her to the couch.

"Are you okay?" Carly asked when she settled down again, "Do you need a pain pill?"

"No, I need to finish this," Emily said wearily, she would love to sink into the oblivion that the drugs would provide but she couldn't, at least not yet.

"What kind of drugs?" Jason asked in concern.

"It's a prescription from the Doctor," Sonny said.

"You know she can't…"

"I have the pills Jason, I'll give them to her, when she needs them." Sonny interrupted him. He knew that Emily once had a problem with drugs, he wasn't about to let this cause her to slide back into them.

Jason nodded and took the empty water glass from Emily, "Are you ready to go on?" He had been grateful for the respite. He wanted a little time to deal with the image that Emily's description of Elizabeth's injuries produced in him. He hated the fact that suddenly he could imagine, and all he could see when he did, was the injuries that Elizabeth had on her body.

Ready? She didn't think she would ever be ready to remember what happened next. She looked at her brother's calm face, he was her hero and at the same time he wasn't. But in a lot of ways he was her strength she had to do this for him. "Yes."

"Okay just start where you want to."

"I was at work, throughout the day I kept picturing Elizabeth in my head, there was something about her bruises that looked out of place but I couldn't figure out what. 7:00 came and went with no Elizabeth, I started to get mad again. She had told me that she would work her shift, yet she wasn't there." Emily's eyes were cloudy, she glanced at her left arm and ran a finger over some bumps there. 

"Does it hurt?" Carly asked in concern.

"No. I was mad so I started slamming things around in the kitchen and I dropped a cup into the fryer and some grease splattered me. It wasn't a bad burn, but it did get on my shirt, so I went up to Elizabeth's room to grab another shirt," she paused for a minute. "I remember I was reaching for the handle on the drawer of her dresser and something bothered me again, but I couldn't quite place it. I changed and stared hard at the dresser trying to figure out what it was. The top of the dresser is almost even with the drawers, it only juts out slightly. It's pretty tall too, it comes up to my shoulder. But what makes it special is the handles on the drawer. Their large, decorative, in the shape of an octagon, they really stand out. Its hard to explain."

"I've seen the dresser Emily, I know what your saying," Jason told her.

"My mind went back to the indentions I had seen on Elizabeth's back. They matched the handles on the drawer," her voice got shaky. "I thought about the grip marks on her arms then. They were way to solid and strong looking to have come from someone trying to catch her before she fell. They had to come from someone holding her tightly, by her arms, maybe even when they rammed her back into the dresser."

Jason closed his eyes for a minute at the words. "Please go on," he asked quietly after another minute of silence.

"I ran out of Kelly's I didn't stop when Tammy yelled, or even to call Zander, I just ran for her studio. I remembered Elizabeth saying that it was time to end this, and it scared me, because I knew what she meant." Her eyes were a bit unfocused and darker than normal in memory. "The whole time I was running a part of my brain kept telling me that I was wrong, that Lucky could never hurt her like that. But I kept hearing your voice Jason, telling me to stay close because Lucky had changed."

She took a deep breath and went on slowly, "I started up the stairs to her studio, and a landing down I could hear yelling. I recognized Lucky's voice, he was screaming at her."

"Could you make out what he was saying?" Sonny kept the question soft trying not to jar her.

"Something like, I know you went to see him. I warned you what would happen if you told," Emily looked at Sonny. "I remember hearing her scream no Lucky it wasn't like that, don't hurt him. Then she just screamed."

Him? Jason was racking his brain to figure out who she could have gone to see.

Carly kept her eyes on Emily and curled her fingers into her palm. It wasn't her fault, she didn't know what was going, she didn't know what would happen.

"I knocked on the door, I could hear them fighting inside, but no one came to the door. I tried the handle but it was locked. I pounded on the door again, yelling at Lucky to stop. Finally I remembered that I still had a key," she took a breath to brace herself for what was to come. "I unlocked the door and shoved it open…"

__

"Lucky stop," the words weren't very loud when she saw the scene in front of her.

Lucky and Elizabeth were in front of the couch, he had his hands around her throat and was choking her. There was absolutely no expression on Lucky's face, while he applied pressure.

Elizabeth's hand was flailing at Lucky trying to claw her way free. Her once green shirt and khaki pants were stained heavily in what looked like blood. Her head rolled to the side in Emily's direction and she could see blood coming from her forehead and the corner of her mouth.

Emily's paralysis broke at that sight and she flew across the room, towards Lucky. She started pounding on his back trying to get him to free his grip on Elizabeth but she couldn't budge him. She scratched at his face, but he didn't even seem to feel it. She tried pulling on his arms but she couldn't move him. Her own sobs were getting louder and louder in her ears, the same time Elizabeth's struggles seemed to lessen.

"I was desperate to stop him." Now that she had reached the critical point in her story, her voice was strong, and her face eerily calm. "I picked up the stool that was by the table, and slammed it against his shoulders and head breaking it. But I was too late," a sob slipped through. "El-Elizabeth went limp the same time I swung. Lucky let go and she fell to the floor, her hand flopped open on the ground. Her head was tilted to the side and her…her eyes," tears were streaming down her face now. "Her eyes were halfway closed, and they were dead. She wasn't breathing, she was dead."

****

~Car~

Francis slammed on the brakes and cranked the wheel hard to the right, sending them from the road, and crashing into a fence off the side of the road. Lucky pitched forward and crashed hard into the dashboard, dropping the gun to the floor in the process.

The car traveled through the barbwire fence and impacted a tree. Francis' head connected with the steering wheel and everything around him threatened to go black for a second. He fought the feeling when he felt Lucky move beside him. Lucky was bleeding from a cut on his forehead, but he was searching the floorboards for the gun.

Francis reached out to grab him the same time Lucky bent and grabbed for the gun that was on the floor in front of the passenger seat. Francis had to settle for hitting Lucky as hard as he could in the back. Lucky shrieked and his hand closed over the gun.

He turned back with the gun in his hand, and Francis immediately grabbed Lucky's hand and they began to struggle over the gun. He was bigger than Lucky and stronger and should have won the struggle easy, but in his madness Lucky had strength he normally didn't have.

The gun was twisted so it was between them. Francis looked into the madness in Lucky's blue eyes, and for an instant he thought he saw his own death in them. He twisted hard on Lucky's hand trying to jerk the gun free.

Lucky screamed in pain the same time the gun went off between them.


	10. Kiss me goodbye

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Disclaimer: Whitey is mine, so is the Francis here. All the rest I merely borrow without returning.

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Babble: Please let me know what you think. It's not that hard to hit a little blue button and say it sucks right?

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Gratitude: Thanks to all of you who have replied during the course of this dark little fic. There's more to come if you're interested. Although some of you may be mad at me after this chapter.

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****

Her Greatest Mistake

Chapter 9

****

~P.C.P.D.~

"It was a .38," Whitey repeated shoving his coke bottle glasses higher up on his nose.

Taggert looked at Garcia who just shrugged, Whitey was well known for his eccentricities. "What was a .38?"

"Pay attention LT," Whitey snapped. "Audrey Hardy was shot with a .38, I found the spent shell casing in the yard. I'm sure the one I'll get from the hospital will match it."

Taggert was too tired to bristle at the LT that Whitey called him, that Whitey always called him, and instead focused on the report. "I didn't know you were on the Hardy shooting. In fact I was trying to reach you to request your help on the Ro…"

"As soon as my tech told me Audrey Hardy was shot, I headed straight for the scene," Whitey interrupted him.

Taggert took a long sip from the strong coffee in an effort to hold his patience, he also used the time to study the excitable doctor. Whitey may never be mistaken for a neat freak, although he was normally meticulous in his appearance. But this morning his tie was askew, and he had grass stains on his pants, indicating that he hadn't put on his protective coveralls before heading for the scene. That was strange behavior for Whitey. Also, there was the fact that he was standing in one place by the desk. Whitey never stood still. He fidgeted, rocked, tapped his foot, or did something, but now he was eerily still, and that was very unsettling. "Why did you head for the scene?"

"I owe it to her to catch the ass that tried to kill her," he pulled his glasses off and began to polish them. "I played poker with Steve Hardy once a week for over 30 years. My wife plays bridge with Audrey every week, I have known her for close to forty years," he shoved the glasses back on his face. "She deserves the best and that is what she is going to get. No favors needed, no bribes, you will have your reports as quickly as I can get them typed up."

Taggert frowned down at the files Garcia had given back to him. He had wanted Whitey to work on the Rogers beating, he was the best after all, and since Rogers was one of Corinthos' he needed the best. But now, he put Audrey's file on top of the other one. "That's good to hear Whitey. Do you have your preliminary ready?"

Detective Alex Garcia leaned back against the desk in surprise and waited for the report. For once Taggert was putting something else above his vendetta for Corinthos. Maybe there was hope for him after all.

"As you know the only room that was disturbed in the house was the second floor sewing room. The window in that room, had its latch broken, and it was the only unlocked window in the house. The latch has apparently been broken for quite some time. There was no sign of forced entry, so other than her letting the perp in the house, he probably gained entry from there," Whitey's voice had taken on a lecture quality and to Taggert's relief he was beginning to fidget.

"What does your gut say?" Taggert interrupted him to ask. "Did she let him in?"

"No. Indications are that she was in bed, the covers were turned down, and the bed had been occupied. She probably heard a noise and went to investigate." How many times had he lectured her on the rules of living alone? That if she heard a noise she was supposed to phone the police and lock herself in her designated safe place, like a closet or a bathroom. She had always listened, and agreed, but why hadn't she done that? He banished those questions and continued on.

"There is some damage in the sewing room, things were overturned, paintings ripped from the wall. There are, some blood smears on the floor beside the bed, on the comforter and also on some yarn that was on the bed too. I took samples from each and sent it to the lab for typing. I also found several partial prints, a lot of them probably belonging to Audrey, but there was this one," his voice rose in excitement. "Directly across from the sewing room door, there was some blood on the wall, and in the middle of the blood there is a crystal clear thumb print. I am running it through N.C.I.C. right now to see if there is a match on file."

Taggert was impressed, Whitey had found out a lot in a short amount of time. That was one of the reasons he had wanted him on the Rogers' beating. He looked into Whitey's shiny face and couldn't make the request. "As soon as something hits let me know, even if I'm off duty, page me."

"I will," Whitey took a step away, before pausing to look back at him. "I'm glad you're on this case Taggert, I know you won't stop until you find out who did this to her."

Taggert was stunned, both by the fact Whitey had paid him a compliment and called him by his name, before he could think of anything to say the short man was gone.

"You made the right choice Marcus," Garcia took a sip of his coffee.

"You sound surprised," Taggert shot back defensively.

"Sometimes you let your desire to nail Corinthos blind you to everything else," Garcia commented.

Taggert could see the truth of those words. Monica Quartermaine had blasted him earlier for what he had done to her years ago, in trying to use her to nail her son and by extension Corinthos. He had also lost Hannah over his obsession with Corinthos. When she saw him go after Corinthos, when he was in ICU recovering from a bullet wound, it had sent their relationship in a tailspin that it had never recovered from. "Contrary to popular opinion, I'm not a monster," he moved the other folder on top again. "Now about Rogers."

"Calvert Rogers of 1414 Seaview Terrace is a licensed security specialist, who is permitted to carry a concealed weapon of a .38 on his person at all time," Officer Johnson interrupted Taggert with the news.

"Thanks Officer," Taggert nodded at him in dismissal.

"There's more," Johnson offered. "In 1998 Rogers was involved in a shooting with that weapon, it was deemed justifiable, but we have a record on the gun."

Taggert grinned. "Good work Johnson," he waited until the officer left before turning to Garcia. "You know what that means?"

"Yeah it means that forensics should have a copy of the type of grooves formed on a bullet, that would come from that gun, in their files. We'll have a leg up if any shootings by a .38 come in," Garcia answered.

"Let's hit forensics, then Corinthos," suddenly energized Taggert got to his feet, shoving the folder on the Hardy shooting in his drawer.

"I thought you were supposed to stay away from Corinthos," Garcia fell into step beside him.

"I'm primary on the murder of Rogers, as such I'm allowed to question his employer," Taggert's eyes were gleaming at the prospect. "Not even the commissioner can argue with that."

****

~Penthouse~

"It's okay Emily," Carly told the girl trying to calm her down. "You're safe here."

Sonny kept his eyes on Jason, so far he hadn't shown any reaction to what Emily had said. He couldn't help but be worried about both Emily and him.

"Emily," Jason's voice was thick and he cleared his throat and tried again. "Emily," he waited until he got her attention before going on. "You did good. I know that was hard for you, but you were great."

Johnny was amazed at Jason's control, less than two hours before he had watched Jason lose it after seeing a piece of glass, and now, after hearing what may have been Elizabeth's last moments, he was a rock. He shook his head and watched him whisper to Emily until her tears stopped.

"Do you want to rest, or are you ready to go on?" Jason asked after the tears stopped.

Emily looked into his calm face and amazingly he smiled slightly at her in encouragement. She took a deep breath and resolved to get through this. "I'd like to finish."

"Alright just tell me what happened with Lucky, just concentrate on him," he coached her hoping to keep her mind from Elizabeth.

"I hit him with the stool and broke it on is back, he staggered and let go of her and she fell…" her voice trailed off.

"What about Lucky?" Sonny asked quickly to focus her.

"He fell to the side, there was blood on the side of his head, I didn't really pay attention, I crouched by Elizabeth, trying to get her to wake up," her eyes were lost in the memory again.

__

"Elizabeth," Emily begged. "Please wake up," her hand shook as she reached over to check for a pulse and couldn't find one. "No," training took over and she began CPR, she counted aloud rhythmically and compressed her chest at the same time. "One and two and three and four and breathe, breathe," she had made it through three cycles when she realized Lucky wasn't laying on the floor in front of her anymore.

She kept the compressions going and turned her head to look for him, at the same time his fist landed on her jaw, sending her to the floor. Pain exploded in her mouth, and she tried to find her feet. She made it to her knees before Lucky stopped her by kicking her in the ribs and propelling her into the couch.

"It's all your fault," Lucky yelled at her. "All your fault," he delivered another kick and Emily screamed. "Shut up," he pulled back to kick her again.

Emily fought the pain and managed to catch his foot before it connected and she shoved it back as hard as she could. Lucky staggered backward, tripping over Elizabeth and falling to the floor.

Using the drape on the couch, she pulled herself up from the floor. She turned to face him just as he launched himself at her. He hit her around the ribs, propelling them back into the unyielding couch. She screamed in pain the same time she heard a crack and felt the back of the couch break, sending them backwards onto the floor.

"I hurt so much, I couldn't move right away, but Lucky didn't even seem to feel the impact. He kept screaming, yet at the same time he was sobbing, it sounded like the wail of an injured animal. Before I could move he broke the easel on my head," she reached up and touched the side of her head. "It didn't knock me out right away so he grabbed a part of it and kept hitting me until I finally blacked out."

Carly felt ill, she had seen things in her life that no one should ever see, she'd had bad things happen to her before. But listening to Emily's now detached voice tell her how her best friend had beaten her into unconsciousness, was one of the worse things she had ever heard. 

"What's the next thing you can remember?" Jason's hands were clenched tightly in anger, but his voice remained calm.

"I woke up and it was dark, it was hard to figure out why. I hurt and every time I moved I felt dizzy, ill, I finally realized that he had put the couch over me," she was beginning to feel very drained, she didn't even have the energy to cry anymore. "I crawled out from under the couch, and looked around. I was alone, Lucky and Elizabeth were gone."

"Was the drape gone from the couch?"

Johnny's question earned a glare from Sonny, but Emily answered it automatically. "Yes, it was gone."

"I couldn't really think, I just knew I had to leave. I was heading for the door, when Lucky came back, he was alone." She was quiet for a bit, what happened next was hard for her to understand much less explain. "He seemed to recognize me, but then again he didn't. He had blood on his hands and clothes, much more than there had been. He called me Elizabeth, then Emily, he even called me," she focused on her brother again, "Jason."

"What happened then?"

"Thinking I was Jason seemed to set him off, and he attacked me again. He kept screaming that Elizabeth was his, that they were permanent, that he was going to kill you," she pointed at Jason, "but meaning me. I couldn't fight anymore, I just curled up in a ball and tried to get through it. I'm sorry I didn't do any more."

"Emily," Sonny touched her arm lightly getting her attention. "You did do something, you survived and that was the most important thing you could do."

"But Elizabeth…"

"Emily you did the right thing. You protected yourself, Lucky was out of control, and if you had fought back he could have killed you. You did nothing wrong," his eyes were serious. Guilt was one emotion he didn't want her to feel, at least not over surviving Lucky's attack.

"I guess," it was getting harder and harder to think clearly. The pain and fatigue were setting in again. She just wanted to sleep, but then again she didn't, if she did sleep the dreams would come back. "He got tired of hitting me, and started destroying the studio. Then suddenly he was by me again, talking to me, but I couldn't understand him, it was so loud in my head. I guess I didn't answer when I was supposed to, because he hit me again," she sighed tiredly. "When he left he asked if I wanted ribs from Eli's."

Jason just shook his head. He was used to dealing with criminals, to people who loved to be cruel to others, but this was beyond him. "Is that all Emily?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't figure it all out in time to save her," she took his hand. "Now that I know, I can't believe I missed the signs. I was so stupid, I didn't figure it out until it was too late to save her from him."

"It's okay Emily," he squeezed her hand. "I know you may not believe me, but I know she's not dead."

"But…" Emily looked confused.

"Emily," Johnny moved so he was sitting beside Jason. "Let me explain some things to you. You said Lucky was choking her and he stopped when you hit him, and she stopped struggling at the same time right?"

"Yes, she went limp the same time I hit him."

"Okay I know this may be hard for you to grasp, because what you saw scared you pretty bad, but that doesn't mean that she's dead," he saw the confusion and denial in her eyes and hurried on. "One time when I was in Florida, someone choked me, and apparently I went down, just like you said Elizabeth did. I wasn't breathing, my friends couldn't find a pulse, my eyes were open and fixed. My friends thought I was dead. To this day I don't understand the medical aspect of what happened to me, but apparently the lack of oxygen getting to my brain, caused my heart rate, and pulse to slow to an almost unreadable amount. In fact without hooking me up to a machine, you wouldn't know my heart was still beating. I was like that, "dead," for about 15 minutes when I just suddenly sat up. I damn near gave Francis a heart attack when I did," he saw her slight smile and knew that the joke had been worth it. "It seems my body shut down all unnecessary functions until the oxygen got the blood moving again."

"Do you mean that?" her eyes moved from his face to Jason's. "Is he telling the truth?"

"Yes he is Emily," Jason nodded.

"Elizabeth is a fighter isn't she?" Johnny asked.

"Yes."

"So she wouldn't give up on living would she?"

"No, she'd fight," her breath was coming quicker, because she was starting to hope again.

"And your brother here is pretty smart right?" Johnny gestured to Jason.

"Yes," again she nodded.

"Well he believes that she is still alive, that Lucky just moved her," he debated with himself for a minute before going on. "I'm not going to lie to you Emily. I don't know for sure if she is alive, but your brother believes she is, and that's enough for me."

"Do you really Jason?" she asked quickly searching his eyes for the truth, knowing he wouldn't lie to her, not about this.

Jason saw the hope warring with loss in her eyes. He didn't want to see her hurt worse, but he couldn't lie to her either. "I believe that she's alive."

"Then I will too," she sagged back against the couch in relief.

Sonny was torn between being glad that Emily looked better after hearing Jason's vow, and concern over what would happen to her if Jason were wrong. He frowned at the door when someone knocked on it.

Johnny quickly got up and moved to the door the same time Pete opened it. "It's Francis," he announced and quickly stepped aside.

Francis walked past him and slowly entered the room, his eyes searching the occupants, to see if it was safe to relax.

Johnny frowned when he saw his friend's face, he didn't look well at all. "Are you okay?"

Francis jerked his head towards Emily. "Help me to the kitchen," he said quietly, reaching for Johnny's arm.

Johnny moved quickly when he saw the blood dripping from his hand. He slipped an arm around his waist, and took most of Francis' weight trying to muscle him into the kitchen and out of sight.

Jason saw what was happening and pulled Emily into a hug so she wouldn't see him. "Why don't you go upstairs and get some rest."

"I am tired," she admitted.

"And you're in pain too aren't you?" Jason asked the question although he could already see the answer in her eyes.

"I don't want to take anything," she averted her eyes and lowered her voice. "I'm scared about taking pills, you know after what happened before."

"Emily, the doctor wanted you to have the medicine, if you want we'll hold onto the pills and give them to you only when you need them," he tried to reassure her. "I don't want you in pain."

"Okay," she let him help her to her feet. "I know you don't like him, but I would like to see Zander. I need to see him."

Jason looked over at Sonny who shrugged. They wanted to keep things quiet, and Zander tended to be an out of control hothead. He saw her face and realized that whether he liked it or not, she seemed to love him. She was already shaky and seeing him could help her.

"Just think about it," Emily went on quietly. "He won't say anything if I tell him not too. Also I didn't go home last night, sooner or later the Q's will start checking for me, and they'll check with Zander first."

Jason nodded. "Just rest, we'll handle the Quartermaines."

"Carly you want to help her upstairs and get her medicine?" Sonny asked.

She nodded and helped Emily move to the stairs, using her body to shield Emily's view of the hall leading to the kitchen.

Johnny and Francis stepped back in the room as soon as they disappeared from view. Jason hurried to them, to support Francis on the other side, and helped move him to the table.

"I called Doc. Wilson, he's on his way," Johnny answered the question before Sonny could ask it.

"You hit anywhere but the shoulder?" Jason asked removing the jacket slowly from Francis, trying to get to the wound.

"No," he grimaced when Jason pulled his shirt from the exposed skin. "Jesus that hurts. I forgot how much I hated getting shot."

"Here," Sonny shoved a glass of whiskey in his hand. "Drink up and tell us what happened."

Francis slugged back a shot of the whiskey, and swallowed an oath as it burned a fire trail down his throat, similar to the fire in his shoulder. "Lucky was waiting for me when I left the studio, before I knew it he had a gun to my head, and was forcing me to drive."

Jason kept dressing the wound, checking for an exit hole. It was easier for him when he kept busy. After hearing Emily's story he needed to do something and checking bullet wounds was something he knew how to do very well.

"Lucky's lost it."

"Tell me about it," Johnny snorted and handed Jason some towels to use as compresses.

"No. I mean he has really lost it," he tilted his head to look up at Jason. "He has completely lost touch with reality. The part of him that had any sort of control is gone, its like he's had a complete psychotic break. Part of the time when we were in the car he was talking to Elizabeth, and apparently she was talking back to him. He is completely fixated on her, and on you Jason."

"Hold that tight," Jason stepped back after placing Francis' hand on the compress. "How so?"

"He's convinced that you took Elizabeth away from him," he remembered the madness he had seen in those otherwise lifeless blue eyes. "At times he seemed to be having memories of conversations he'd had with Elizabeth, they concerned you. Other times he seemed to be talking to you," he took another gulp of whiskey. "When he first got in, he said we were going to see Elizabeth, that she was waiting for him, I went along with him, because I wanted to find her. I bided my time and tried to keep him talking, but he was sliding more and more out of control. Finally I couldn't wait anymore, I had an idea where we were going, so I made my move."

"Is Lucky dead?" Jason hoped not. He had never taken pleasure in killing, to him it was a job, hopefully only done only in self-defense, if not as a last resort. But he wanted to kill Lucky. No he wanted to do more than that. He wanted Lucky to suffer first. He wasn't real comfortable with the realization that he had this type of hate inside of him.

"No he's not dead. I drove the car off the road and we struggled over the gun. I got shot then I blacked out. When I came to, both Lucky and the gun were gone. I was going to call but my phone was damaged so I just came here, I forgot about Emily being here."

"How long ago did this happen?" Sonny questioned, trying to process the fact that he had almost lost two guards, to the same kid, within a few hours of each other.

"I don't know, 20 minutes, not much more than a half an hour ago," Francis blinked heavily. The lack of sleep, blood loss, and whiskey were beginning to take effect on him, making him drowsy.

"Francis," Jason's voice caught his attention. "You said you thought you knew where you were going. Where was that?"

"Yeah, we were heading out of town, near that old boxcar of yours," his words were slurred.

Pete opened the door. "The doctor is here."

Sonny waved him in then moved to the wet bar with Johnny and Jason. "I told Cal to check the boxcar, Mike found him on Elm Street near the docks. The last time I talked to him he was at the docks, there's a good chance he never got to the boxcar, before Lucky found him."

"So it hasn't been checked at all?" Jason asked hope surging in him. "It would make sense for him to take her there, its isolated, not a lot of people know about it and it is familiar to him."

"Why don't you two check it out?" Sonny sighed. "I'll wait here. Taggert's bound to show before too long."

"Give me a minute Johnny," Jason waited for him to move away before turning to Sonny again. "I need a gun."

Sonny frowned, Jason with a gun could be a bad thing.

"You know I couldn't take the chance of flying with mine."

"I don't know Jason," Sonny hedged.

"Look you've already assigned me a watch dog," he jerked his head to Johnny. "But you know Lucky isn't thinking rationally, I need to be prepared."

Sonny moved to the desk, unlocked the bottom drawer and removed a lock box, he unlocked it and pulled out a gun, handing it to Jason. "You know Emily needs you, and Elizabeth is probably counting on you. So you need to use your head."

Jason nodded and tucked the gun into his boot, knowing it was too hot to wear his jacket to conceal it. "About the Quartermaines, I know sooner or later she'll have to deal with them but for now, if they show…"

"I'll handle them," Sonny interrupted.

"About Zander," he sighed then went with his gut. "If you think you can convince him to keep his mouth shut, tell him. She wants to see him, and I don't want her upset." He looked over at the doctor. "You might want to keep him on alert."

"If you find her, we'll be ready," Sonny held out his hand and held his breath, wondering if Jason would take it.

"When I find her," Jason corrected and after a minute he reached out and shook his hand, then turned around and walked out the door.

****

~Cottage~

"Nikolas you have called your mom, you have left messages on both Elizabeth and Lucky's machines, you have checked both their rooms at Kelly's, face it they are out of town." Gia spoke as she got out of the jag.

"I know. But I am still going to get the spare key to the studio and then check it, maybe there's some information there as to where they went," he shut his door and waited for her to join him before heading for the door. "I have to do something."

"I know," she slipped her hand in his and stifled a yawn. "You wouldn't be Nikolas if you didn't. So we'll go to the studio."

"Thanks Sparky," he paused by the door to kiss her.

"Later," she pushed on his chest, then looked at the door. "Why is the door open?"

Nikolas pulled her behind him when he saw a smear on the door near the doorknob. He reached out and pushed on the door opening it slowly. "Lucky," he cried in relief when he spotted his brother sitting on the couch. "I've been looking everywhere for you and Elizabeth."

"Everything is just so loud," Lucky whispered.

"What Lucky?" Nikolas moved into the room and down the steps to the living area.

"The voices in my head, their so loud. Elizabeth makes them quiet where is she?" Lucky looked around and then called for her, "Elizabeth."

Gia frowned at Nikolas, Lucky was making less sense then normal.

Nikolas moved closer to the couch, close enough to see the blood on Lucky's clothes and head. "What happened to you?" He reached out to touch his arm in concern.

Lucky jerked away from him and shot to his feet. "Nikolas," he cried in recognition. "I've been waiting for you. Is Elizabeth with you?"

"No. I thought she was with you?" Nikolas didn't like that look in his brother's eyes. Uneasiness coursed through him. "Lucky where is Elizabeth?"

"I can't find her. I can hear her but I can't find her," his voice broke. "Why is she hiding from me?"

Nikolas caught movement out of the corner of his eye and held out his hand to stop Gia's approach. He didn't want her anywhere near Lucky, not when he was acting like this. "Why would she hide from you?"

"I don't know," Lucky rubbed at his head and then stared at his bloody hand. He was so tired of seeing blood. "Maybe because she's afraid I'll hurt her again."

Nikolas' stomach dropped at those words, uneasiness turned to concern and fear. Fear both for Elizabeth and his brother. "But you would never hurt Elizabeth."

"I don't mean to. I don't want too," his attention remained on his hands.

__

"Please don't hurt me anymore. Why are you always hurting me?"

"I won't hit you anymore Elizabeth, just please come back," he scrubbed his hands on his jeans trying to wipe the blood off. "See no more blood."

"Who's blood is it Lucky?" Nikolas moved closer to his brother.

"Elizabeth's," he looked up at his brother then. "I don't mean to lose control and hurt her. But sometimes when I see her, I hate her so much, and I was just want to hurt her. But at the same time I love her."

"God," Gia covered her mouth in shock. She had never liked Elizabeth but she couldn't help but feel for her. It sounded like Lucky had put her through hell. She could see the pain in Nikolas' face and knew she had to be strong for him.

"Do you know where she is now?" Nikolas had to believe she was okay.

"Don't you hear her crying?" Lucky asked grabbing his throbbing head with his right hand.

Nikolas froze in his tracks when he saw the gun in Lucky's hand, a gun that was now pointed at his head.

****

~Boxcar~

Jason headed down the familiar path leading to the boxcar, what could have been considered his first home. To him it was just a place where he could be free, where the Quartermaines couldn't get near him. Finding it had been a stroke of luck, he could open the doors on both sides of the car and let the wind blow through.

Memories of Robin were in that boxcar too, memories of a happier time between them. A time when he was first learning what love was. There were also memories of Elizabeth there. The first one was of a wide-eyed girl who was a little afraid of him, but willing to speak up to defend Lucky. It was difficult for him to recall how she was that day, because that girl seemed to disappear the same time Lucky "died."

As they drew near the boxcar his footsteps slowed. The doors were closed and even from a distance he could see sunlight glinting off a chain and padlock that were on the door.

Elizabeth had fought for him to live inside that boxcar, after he had been shot. She had ignored what he told her to do, what Sonny told her to do, she was determined only to make sure that he lived. He could remember her face, when she held his hand while Bobbie had worked on him, she even matched her breathing with his. The whole time her eyes were begging him to be okay. Now it was her turn to be okay, his turn to return the favor to find and help her.

"Is this always locked?" Johnny broke the silence.

"No the railroad doesn't lock it until September," Jason frowned at the lock. "Someone else locked it."

"Well it's a good thing that I have a key," Johnny pulled out his lock picks and moved closer to the door to pick the lock. He dropped one of the picks and reached down to pick it up only to freeze mid-motion when he saw the ground.

The once green grass had been compressed, probably because of heavy foot traffic, but that wasn't the part that worried him. There was a large stain in the grass that he recognized as blood. Slowly he raised his eyes to the boxcar and saw the trail the blood had made. It started midway up the door, right by the handle, where the door met the car, and worked its way down to gather on the ground. Even the padlock had blood on it.

Jason saw his hesitation and focused on the door. "Move Johnny."

"Jason we don't know what's in there for sure," Johnny turned to face him.

"Move," Jason snapped pulling the gun out of his boot and pointing it towards him. "Now."

"There's no need to rush just let me unlock…"

Jason cocked the trigger and Johnny moved quickly. Jason moved forward and placed the barrel of the gun on the top of the padlock and pulled the trigger. The force of the bullet drove the padlock down, freeing the lock from its hold.

"The door." Johnny finished lamely.

Jason tucked the gun back in his boot, pulled the rest of the padlock and chain off, before reaching up to slide open the door.

Johnny's hand covered his on the handle before he could open it. "Let me look first," Johnny said.

"She's not dead."

"Fine then there's no reason for me not to look first," Johnny repeated tightening his hold, when Jason started to slide the door back.

"I told you…" Jason's voice trailed off when an odor escaped the boxcar causing his eyes to sting.

Johnny swallowed a groan when he recognized the smell, the smell of death.

Jason closed his eyes briefly then shoved hard at the door, sending it open and an off-balanced Johnny to the ground. He jumped in the boxcar, and his eyes filled with horror when he saw the inside of the car. "Oh my god, Elizabeth."

"Oh crap," Johnny heard the pain in Jason's voice and realized they had been too late to save her.

****

~Cottage~

Nikolas took his eyes off the gun long enough to look at Gia. "Go," he mouthed the words to her, but she shook her head, refusing to leave him. He jerked his head to the door, and again she shook her head.

"It's all Jason's fault," Lucky snapped suddenly drawing their focus back on him.

"How do you mean?" Nikolas asked.

"We were fine until he came back. He came back and suddenly what I wanted didn't matter to her anymore," Lucky cried feeling angry all over again. "He tried to take her from me, but I wouldn't let him. I wouldn't let him take her, and I wouldn't let her go."

"She tried to go?" Nikolas asked moving closer to the table by the couch. He thought if he knocked the lamp off the table maybe it would distract Lucky long enough that he could get the gun away from him.

"She was going to leave me," Lucky yelled. "I heard her say she was in love with him, but I knew that was just a lie. I forgave her for that. But then she tried to leave. **NO ONE LEAVES**, I told I'd kill her before I let her go," he paused. "So that's what I did."

Gia gasped at the words drawing Lucky's attention to her.

__

"Killing her to keep her with you," Jason shook his head. "Now that's just pathetic, even for you Lucky."

"You shut up Jason," Lucky yelled pointing the gun at him.

Gia's eyes went wide when she saw the gun pointed at her.

"Lucky put the gun down," Nikolas ordered.

__

"How does it feel to know that Elizabeth would rather be dead then with you?" Jason asked.

Lucky turned and kept the gun pointed at Jason. "That's not true Jason, Elizabeth loves me, not you, only me."

"Run Gia," Nikolas hissed as soon as the gun was moved from her, to him.

"But you…" she started.

"Get help," Nikolas snapped never taking his eyes off of Lucky's shaking hand.

__

"That's not true Lucky, you heard her yourself. That night in the park, you heard her say she was in love with me, that she was only with you out of obligation." Jason corrected, crossing his arms over his chest. "Out of pity."

"Not pity," Lucky cried moving the gun again so it was next to his head, which had started to pound again. Flashes of memory were coming to him, memories of hiding in the bushes and listening to them talk, memories of her kissing Jason, of her saying she loved him.

__

"Yes she felt pity for you and love for me," Jason grinned. "Well that's not all she felt for me. She was damn hot for me too."

"Shut up Jason."

"Lucky, Jason's not here," Nikolas moved closer.

__

"She tried to remain faithful Lucky, she really did. But eventually she just had to know what it was like," Jason taunted.

"Lucky why don't you give me the gun," Nikolas reached his hand out slowly so he didn't startle him.

__

"I love Lucky and I always will, but I am in love with you."

"Why Elizabeth?" Lucky's voice broke and the hand holding the gun dropped to his side.

__

"I am in love with you."

"That's it Lucky just let the gun go," Nikolas encouraged softly moving even closer.

__

"Finally she just had to know what it would be like to be with a real man," Jason laughed.

"I am in love with you."

Jason's laughter, mixed with her words and echoed in his head, until the roaring became so loud that he just couldn't take it. "No," he screamed bringing the gun up and firing it at the man laughing at him.

Nikolas saw him raise the gun and lunged for Lucky at the same time. He knocked the hand holding the gun away so the bullet went wide. His lunge propelled them back into the fireplace and they both collapsed heavily, he caught his head on the side of the hearth stunning him momentarily.

A minute was all Lucky needed to turn on him. He began to flail wildly trying to land punches. Nikolas jerked his head back, and felt the wind as Lucky's fist just missed him. He fought back, bringing his elbow up and catching Lucky under the chin, forcing his head back into the fireplace and knocking him unconscious.

Nikolas slumped to the side for a minute trying to catch his breath and lower his heart rate, before pushing to his feet and heading for the phone. He had only taken a step when he saw her lying on the landing. "Gia," her name was ripped out of him as he ran to her side.

"N-nikolas," she gasped his name.

"God Gia," he dropped to the floor beside her, his eyes locked on a dark red stain that was rapidly growing on her white shirt. 

"Are you okay?" her hand clutched at his.

"I'm okay. I'll get you an ambulance," he forced his attention to her face and saw her paleness, and a thin trickle of blood that was forming on the corner of her mouth. "Baby why didn't you run?"

"I couldn't leave you," she gripped his hand when he went to move away. "Don't leave."

"I need to get help."

"Too late," she could feel herself slipping away and she didn't want to be alone. "Stay with me."

"Always," Nikolas promised tears slipping down his face. "There's nowhere else I ever want to be."

She coughed slightly. "Come closer, I want to see you."

He bent close to her face, her hand in his. "You got to fight baby."

"It doesn't hurt anymore Nikolas," she focused on his face. The face of the only man she had ever loved. She raised her other hand to touch it, "I'm glad you're with me."

"We'll be together forever," he managed. "You're my princess."

She smiled at that. "I do love you Nikolas, with everything I have."

"I love you too."

"Kiss me goodbye," she asked softly, she could feel her strength going.

He wiped the tears from his face and pressed his lips on hers. Her lips moved softly under his for a minute, he could feel her breath against his mouth, and then she went still. He let out a sob and kept his mouth on hers for a minute longer before pulling back to look at her face. As soon as he moved her head fell limply to the side. "Gia," he gathered her lifeless body in his arms and began to rock. "I love you."


	11. Images of her

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Disclaimer: The idea is mine.

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Babble: Thank you all so very much for the wonderful replies I got last chapter!!!!! You have no idea how thrilled I was to see them, and know that people were in fact reading this story and liked it enough to reply. As always thanks so much, and please leave me more. ((I'm greedy but I admit that fact.)) With the dark subject matter of this fic, it's very encouraging, so thanks again.

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Her Greatest Mistake

Chapter 10

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~Boxcar~

Johnny hurriedly jumped up on the boxcar and what he saw offended even his jaded eyes. Covering the walls were photos of Elizabeth. Photo's of her walking, talking, sleeping, smiling, frowning, speaking, some from a distance some from close up, some were posed but most were unaware. Her face was everywhere you looked, her eyes seemed to follow you when you moved. But in lots of the photos her face was splattered with blood.

As disturbing as that was there was something far worse. To the left of the boxcar underneath a faded painted picture of a bed, was a woman. She was slumped low on the ground, her head on her chest, her matted brown hair partially shielding her face. Her arms were held up over her head by the handcuffs on her wrists that were looped over a hook that had been bolted into the wall. Her khaki pants were heavily stained and crusted with blood. Her shirt lay in tattered remnants around her, the once fair skin of her stomach was bruised and bloody.

Jason was standing immobile a few feet in front of her. Johnny had never seen his friend look so pale. He paused by him for a second, then moved closer and crouched down beside her. He pulled some gloves from his pocket and quickly put them on before reaching out to check for a pulse. Judging from the smell he knew he wouldn't find one, he hoped that he was wrong … but he wasn't.

"I'm sorry Jason," he turned to look at Jason who was still staring at her. "She's dead."

****

~Cottage~

Nikolas held Gia in his arms, he couldn't seem to make himself let go of her. If he let her go, if he laid her down, then it would be real. Then she would be dead. As long as he held her there was still a chance, a chance that this was an awful mistake. That this was a horrible dream that he just needed to wake up from. He would wake up and she would be mad at him for almost forcing her off the bed again. How many times had her cursing woken him up? Cursing because the only reason she was still on the bed was because of an arm he had locked around her waist.

She couldn't be gone, she was so full of life, full of love, she couldn't leave him. Not like this, he had let her in farther then anyone else, she couldn't leave him now. "Please," he whispered again, even though a part of him new it was useless.

He gradually became aware of Lucky groaning on the floor behind him. Lucky, his name hardened everything into reality for him. He shifted and cupped the back of her head then gently laid her down on the landing. Her unsupported head fell to the side and he lightly traced her face one last time. He pressed a kiss to her forehead before getting to his feet and turning to face his brother … her killer.

Nikolas felt detached as he watched Lucky sit up and moan, before clutching his head in apparent pain. He watched Lucky look around in confusion, before his eyes came to rest on him. He could see the fear, pain and confusion in those blue eyes and he hardened his heart to them.

"Nikolas how did I get here?" the pain in his head was intense but he could recognize his brother. "What happened?"

"You broke in and attacked us," his voice was harsh. He was amazed he could speak at all, the anger he felt seemed to be choking him.

"I attacked you," he repeated in confusion getting to his knees. His eyes caught sight of a gun lying on the floor under the couch, and he felt a strange sense of longing telling him to pick it up. He fought that thought and got to his feet. "I wouldn't attack you."

"Really like you wouldn't hurt Elizabeth? Like you wouldn't shoot Gia?" Nikolas demanded. "Look at yourself Lucky," he moved quickly then catching Lucky off guard.

"What," was all Lucky had time to say before Nikolas had his arm-twisted around his back. The pain immobilized his struggles and he moved with the pain as Nikolas propelled him forward.

"Look at yourself," Nikolas yelled shoving him closer to a mirror. "Look at the blood you have all over yourself. Look into the face of Gia's killer."

Lucky shook his head and closed his eyes, it couldn't be true, it just couldn't be. "I would never hurt anybody."

Incensed by his denial, Nikolas changed his grip and twisted Lucky's head forcing him to look at Gia on the landing. "Oh no? Look at her, look at what you did to her."

Lucky's eyes widened at the sight of her lifeless body, vague memories of a gunshot rang in his ear. His eyes locked on the heavy red stain on her white shirt, then moved to her fixed eyes. "I did that?"

The confused question got through some of the anger that was controlling Nikolas and he let go of Lucky's head. "Yes you did that to her. You did that right after you said you killed Elizabeth."

Lucky turned his head to look in the mirror. He was horrified at what he saw, the blood stains on his shirt, the scratch marks on his face, the cut on his forehead, the blood on his brow, the blood in his hair. The longer he looked the more desperate he became. When had he turned into a monster? "What's wrong with me Nikolas? I don't understand."

Nikolas tried to keep the hate in his heart but in that instant he could see his brother's eyes in the reflection. They were lost and confused and they were begging Nikolas to help him understand what was happening to him. Seeing those eyes he couldn't help but remember his brother of almost two years ago, the brother he would have done anything for. "I don't know what is wrong with you."

"You said I hurt Elizabeth," he closed his eyes and tried to remember. There was a strange sound in his head that made it hard for him to think. "Did I hurt her bad?"

"I don't know Lucky," Nikolas' grip on him loosened slightly. "But you need help."

__

"You need help, Lucky…. Lucky you need help…. You need help…. You need help."

Elizabeth's voice rang in his ears, he opened his eyes and focused on the mirror again, but he didn't see the mirror, all he saw was the boxcar, and her.

__

"Lucky look at this," Elizabeth croaked, the tears falling uselessly from her eyes. "You need help."

"No I just need you," Lucky shot back keeping a tight grip on her arm.

"You need more help that I can give you. I thought you were getting better, but my god Lucky. Look at what you've done," she gestured with her free hand. "Lucky you need serious help."

"Stop saying that," he shrieked and backhanded her sending her to the floor of the car.

He stood over her, a part of him angry that she was continuing to defy him, another part of him screaming out to help her. "Elizabeth," he crouched beside her to help her to her feet. "I'm sorry."

"I can't take this anymore," her voice was weak. She pushed herself to her knees, and avoiding his hand got slowly to her feet under her own power. "I can't let you do this to me anymore Lucky. One day you're going to kill me."

Lucky rocked back in horror. "I would never kill you, I love you."

She pointed to her face, and the blood that was beginning to come from her nose. "Is this love to you? Is hurting me love? If it is I don't want your love."

He stared at his hands, when had they become someone else's? When did they become the hands of a monster? Why couldn't he control them anymore? "I don't want to hurt you," he whispered.

"I know," she sighed. "I thought I could help you. That if I was patient enough maybe I could save you from yourself, and whatever Helena did to you, but I can't. Every time you hurt me you kill another part of me. Soon there won't be enough of me left to live. I'm leaving you while I still can."

Leaving, the word seemed to echo in the boxcar, inside his head. It set off a fear so deep inside of him, that he didn't even know it was there. She couldn't leave, she was his only link to the world, she was his savior. "No."

"Yes Lucky, I'm already gone," she leaned heavily against the wall by the door, as if to steady herself before climbing down.

Before he was even aware what he was doing, he was by the door gripping the handle. "I will never let you go, I need you to much."

At his words she bowed her head against the wall for a second but then reached out and grasped the doorframe to support her way down. "Goodbye Lucky."

"No," he yelled and slammed the door. Her scream of pain reverberated in the boxcar and caused a ringing in his ears.

"No, God no," horrified by the memory and still hearing her scream in his ears, his breaths began coming in pants. He couldn't have done that to her, he loved her, she had his heart forever. "God no please."

Nikolas could hear the terror in Lucky's voice and the fear he had for Elizabeth increased. "What did you do to her?" He shook Lucky. "Where is she?"

"Elizabeth," he moaned her name and slumped to the floor when his strength gave out, bringing an off-balance Nikolas with him.

****

~General Hospital~

"Kevin thanks for coming so soon," Bobbie smiled in relief when she heard the ding of the elevator.

"I got here as soon as I got your message," Dr. Kevin Collins replied moving closer to the Nurses' station. "What happened?"

"Audrey Hardy was shot last night," she explained, moving around to the front of the desk.

"On no, is she going to be okay?"

"Its touch and go," she admitted moving towards the lounge and settling heavily in a chair. She hadn't allowed herself to stop moving since she heard about Audrey. She had been afraid her concern over Audrey would take control and she wouldn't be able to function.

"Are you okay? I know you two are close," he asked noticing the weariness in her eyes.

"Yes we are, but it wasn't always like that. When I first started I trained under her and Jessie Brewer," she smiled wryly. "I was such a bitch then. My goal such as it was, was to meet and marry the richest doctor I could land," she shook her head in memory. "I thought that was what Audrey had done too. Needless to say Audrey didn't like me very much at first, but she was fair to me, and gave me a chance when I didn't really deserve one."

"She was one of the first to accept me on staff here. After what Ryan had done, most people took one look at me and wanted to hit me, but not Audrey. She gave me a chance. When I had my own problems a few years later, she still stood by me," and for that he would always be grateful to her.

"She's like that," a tear slipped past her defenses. "I can't do this, she's a great lady. She didn't deserve to be shot, in the back, in her own home," she snapped angrily.

"She was at home?"

"Yes. She was in bed and someone came into her house, and when she tried to run away they shot her in the back and left her for dead." She was nurse dedicated to saving lives, but she was also a human being and what had happened to Audrey angered her so much that she wanted to hurt whoever did it.

"It's normal to feel angry Bobbie," he could see the anger in her eyes and tried to validate it. "When something bad happens to someone we love, it is only natural that we want to punish the person responsible."

"Maybe," she conceded. "But I can't think about that now. Right now I have to concentrate on getting through the day," she brushed the tears away. "As you can see what happened to Audrey is going to effect a lot of people here. She runs the nursing program, so a lot of us are shaky. I need you to do what you do best and be here to counsel the nurses and anyone else who needs it."

"Of course," he agreed immediately. He wished there was more that he could do, but this was a way to help.

"With Gail Baldwin still on vacation we're short handed, so you will probably be busy," she got to her feet. "I need to get back to ICU."

"Has the family been informed?" he trailed her to the desk. "I should probably start with Elizabeth."

"She doesn't know yet," Bobbie turned to face him. "We've managed to reach her son and stepsons, but no one can find Elizabeth."

Kevin frowned, the first prickle on unease moving through him, he didn't like the sound of that. "That sounds strange."

"Apparently Lucky took her out of town. I know Nikolas and Taggert are trying to track them down," she heard her name being paged and began to hurry away. "I'll talk to you later."

Kevin nodded but didn't respond. He slowly turned around and headed for his office, his mind was replaying a conversation he'd had with Elizabeth three days ago.

__

Elizabeth glanced down the hall then spoke quickly. "Lucky mentioned that he wants to go out of town on a trip."

"I don't think that's wise Elizabeth," Kevin replied. "He needs to keep up his therapy, in fact I was going to suggest, we start meeting more than twice a week."

"He's getting worse isn't he?" she kept her voice low.

"The sessions are getting more intense," was all he could really tell her. "I still would feel better if you left him."

"You know I can't do that."

"Elizabeth I can look at you and tell that his treatment of you is getting worse and worse." He looked down the hall and saw Lucky talking with Bobbie and decided to continue on. "Has he hit you again?"

She averted her eyes and shrugged.

"Elizabeth staying with someone who is violent is never a good idea. You can't help Lucky if you're dead."

"He wouldn't kill me," she said quickly.

"You once thought he would never hit you either," frustration over not being able to reach Lucky or her, was welling up in him. "There comes a time when you have to put yourself first."

"I just have to hang on until Luke comes back, you need to keep helping him, and so do I," she argued. "We have come to far to quit on him now."

"Elizabeth you need to protect yourself."

"I'm trying," her voice broke. "Do you think I like this?"

"Then leave him, help me get him committed. He needs more than outpatient treatment anyway. You say you want to help him but you won't let me do the things that he needs the most, instead you are enabling him." He knew he was pressing her but he hadn't liked the behavior Lucky had been exhibiting in the last few weeks.

"He won't go, he'll run, and if you do catch him, he will hurt them and himself, rather than be in a hospital," she sighed. "Can't you wait until Luke comes back? He might have some more information for us."

"I can wait," he said after a minute. "But can you? You have to be with him everyday."

She shuddered, "I just have to remember the reason I'm doing this," she saw Lucky head in their direction. "I need to go."

"Elizabeth don't go out of town with him. He can't hurt you too badly here, because you have to see people you know. But if you go out of town, that restraint will be gone," Kevin hissed hurriedly.

"Believe me I won't," she vowed. "No matter what I have to do I won't leave town with him."

Why had she changed her mind? He remembered the last few sessions he'd had with Lucky, and the anger he sensed that was building up in the boy. He began to wonder if she did change her mind or if something happened to her.

****

~Cottage~

"Lucky tell me what you did to her," Nikolas demanded, moving quickly to grasp Lucky by the shirt. "What did you do?" 

"I hurt her, I hurt her real bad. Don't you hear her screaming?" he asked, it was so loud in his head it sounded like a siren.

"Where is she?" Nikolas jerked Lucky's head and shoulders from the floor then slammed them back down. "Tell me."

The blow cleared the confusion from Lucky's mind. The siren disappeared and the familiar roar of his anger was back in its place. "I already told you, I hurt her," he reached out with his right hand and managed to grasp the gun. 

Nikolas recoiled at the words slightly. He noticed a split second too late the cunning in Lucky's eyes. He pressed his elbow down on Lucky's throat but froze when he felt the gun against his temple.

"Get off of me Nikolas," his words were remote, there was no emotion in them anymore.

"Put the gun down," Nikolas ordered, his voice firm.

"Move," Lucky pressed the gun harder into his temple, and forced Nikolas back off of him. "I didn't want to do this. I just wanted you to help me find Elizabeth," he told him getting to his feet.

Nikolas sat back on his knees. "I will never help you find her."

"Why? I'm your brother."

Nikolas heard the hurt in Lucky's voice and it saddened him. Yes Lucky was his brother, but it seemed that Lucky was gone. "You need help."

"Why does everyone tell me that?" he demanded, backhanding Nikolas, catching him off guard.

"Is that what you did to Elizabeth?" He felt strangely calm given the fact that someone was holding a gun on him.

Lucky looked at his hand again. "I don't want to be like this."

"Then give me the gun," Nikolas held out his hand. "And let me help you."

Lucky looked at the gun in his hand, it felt wrong there, it was so heavy, it didn't belong in his hand. He began to extend it out to Nikolas.

The phone began to ring then, shattering the quiet in the room and startling them both. Lucky's eyes jerked to the phone and Nikolas used the distraction to charge Lucky. He caught him around the waist in a flying tackle sending them both back into the desk and then into the wall.

Lucky yelped in pain when his head cracked the mirror shattering it. He pounded with the gun on Nikolas' back and forced him to let him go.

Nikolas staggered back but recovered quickly his fist connected with Lucky's jaw and sent him into a chair. He moved after him, then went flying back when Lucky lifted a foot and caught him in the midsection.

Lucky stood and turned to face him, just as Nikolas began his next attack. He automatically raised the gun in defense and aimed it at his brother and pulled the trigger.

Nikolas saw the gun pointed at him, but didn't care, he only wanted to stop Lucky. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion, Lucky pulled the trigger, and he waited for the pain to hit, but nothing happened, it was out of bullets. He moved forward then to try to subdue Lucky, but Lucky moved quicker, swinging the gun and catching him on the corner of his head. Staggered Nikolas fell to his knees. Lucky hit him again in the side of the head, and Nikolas blacked out falling heavily to the floor. Lucky hit him again and was raising his hand to do it for a fourth time when he heard her.

__

"Lucky."

"Elizabeth?" He stopped his motion and looked around for her. 

__

"Lucky, you have my heart and that's a permanent lock."

"And you have mine Elizabeth," Lucky whispered to her. He moved towards the door and tripped, falling on top of Gia. "Oh god," he gasped and quickly got off of her. What had happened to her? He looked around desperately and saw Nikolas lying lifeless on the floor, blood coming from a cut on his head. "Nikolas?" he took a step closer only to stop in horror when he saw the gun in his hand.

"What did I do?" the gun slipped from his shaking hand. "God what did I do?" He heard the sounds of sirens in the distance and quickly ran from the cottage.

****

~Penthouse~

"Lieutenant Taggert and Detective Garcia are here to see you," Pete announced, keeping the door partially closed, shielding their view of the room.

Sonny took a final glance around the penthouse. "Let Alexis know and let them in."

He remained seated at the table when Taggert walked in followed by Garcia. "So what do Port Charles finest have on their minds today? You do realize I don't sell coffee here, that's only at the warehouse."

Taggert stalked to the table, refusing to be impressed by either the room or the man. He knew who Sonny Corinthos really was, and he was no one to be admired. "What do I normally want from you Corinthos?"

"My head on a platter," Sonny sipped his coffee. "But you never seem to manage that, you must like failing."

"It's only a matter of time Corinthos," Taggert countered resting his hands on the table. "You'll screw up and I'll have you right where I want you."

"Really Lieutenant this is getting old," Alexis Davis commented before closing the door. "I would have thought that you would have learned your lesson by now," she shook her head and crossed to the table. "It's barely 10:00 in the morning and you are already harassing my client."

Taggert bristled at her words but tried to keep his temper. He knew from bitter experience not to try to best her in word play. Being a lawyer she was sneaky enough that he would never win. "I have a perfectly legal right to be here."

"Really? Do you have a warrant or a subpoena? Did you call first and make an appointment? Or did you just barge in here unannounced and demand that my client speak to you?"

"No Pete out there announced us," Garcia spoke for the first time.

Alexis couldn't help the slight smile at his words. Taggert was a hothead and it was easy to press his buttons. But Garcia was cooler, she had to work harder to rile him. "Very amusing Detective."

Garcia nodded and kept his eyes on her. It was always hard for him to come to this place. He was always reminded of Lily when he came here. Other than the ottoman and the new desk the place looked exactly the same as when she was alive. It looked the same but it didn't feel the same to him. It was missing the warmth and laughter that she had brought into these dark rooms. He focused on Sonny, who was sitting at the head of the table eating a croissant like he was the Lord of the Manor, and they were just annoying little flies that were bothering him. Sonny was the reason that Lily was dead. It always took him a few minutes to control the anger that rose in him.

"So is there a point to this?" Alexis asked absently, concentrating more on the coffee she had just poured, then them. Sonny did have the best coffee, she didn't understand it, she used the same beans he did, but hers turned out as sludge while his was excellent.

"You have an employee but the name of Calvert Rogers?" Garcia addressed Sonny.

Sonny felt the cool animosity coming off of Garcia, but answered calmly enough. "Yes he's a personal bodyguard of my wife's."

"When was the last time you spoke to him?" Taggert asked.

"Cal finished his shift around 6:00 yesterday, I saw him when I got home about 6:15," he replied easily.

"So you haven't spoken to Rogers since then?" Garcia pressed.

"Is there a point to this?" Alexis interrupted.

"Rogers was found beaten to death about 4:30 this morning."

"And you think my client was somehow involved?" she demanded. She may not know what had happened to Cal, she may never know, but she was positive that Sonny was not involved in beating him to death.

"Did I say that?" Taggert looked towards Garcia in question.

"I don't think so," Garcia commented. "Maybe there's someone with a guilty conscious in the room."

"Great P.C.P.D.'s version of Abbott and Costello," Alexis griped.

"I was thinking more of Dumb and Dumber," Sonny corrected mildly.

Alexis snorted.

"Did you know what Rogers did when he got off of work last night?" Garcia ignored the dig and continued on. He knew it was unlikely that Sonny would let anything slip, but you never knew.

"No. Once they leave my employees are free to do whatever they want to do. I'm not their mother," he studied Taggert and decided to make a preemptive strike. "I was aware of what happened to Cal though, that he was found dead. I have already contacted the hospital and a funeral home."

Alexis hid her surprise, but inwardly she was worried. Sonny never volunteered information. Not unless he was trying to throw someone off the track.

"And how did you know that?" Taggert demanded.

"Mike Corbin, my father, came to see me earlier. He was quite upset. It seems he discovered a body, it wasn't until later on that he placed the man as Cal Rogers, he immediately came to me and told me what happened," Sonny explained, making sure to cover Mike's butt.

Taggert felt disgusted he had hoped to zing Corinthos with that little bit of information, but it seemed that Corinthos was well prepared for this meeting. "Don't you find it odd that…" he trailed off when his cell phone began to ring. With a sigh he moved towards the door and answered it. "Taggert.

__

"Lieutenant, there's been another shooting," a female's voice came over the line.

"Another shooting? What is it a holiday?" Taggert grumbled then remembered that it was in fact a holiday. "Give it to someone else Lily I already have two on my plate, and I'm questioning someone right now."

__

"I know," Lily lowered her voice. "I'm letting you know because of the address of the victim. It's 1507 Mockingbird Lane. The house belongs to Nikolas Cassadine, doesn't your sister live there?"

"There was a shooting at Cassadine's?" he repeated quietly, he couldn't have heard her correctly.

__

"Yes. Black and whites are on the scene," she debated with herself before going on. "They requested an ambulance and a coroner."

Taggert felt his blood run cold at her words, a coroner, a shooting, at his sister's house. "I'm on my way," he turned to Garcia. "We need to leave now."

Garcia took one look at his face and didn't argue. "We'll be in touch with the rest of the questions counselor," he addressed Alexis and never spared Sonny a glance as he followed Taggert out of the room.

"What happened?" he asked Taggert who was pounding on the elevator call button. 

"There's been a shooting at my sister's house," he looked at Garcia. "Someone is dead."

"Christ," Garcia muttered and got on the elevator.

****

~Penthouse~

"Was it something we said?" Alexis turned to Sonny after the cop's abrupt exit.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "Can you sit? There's something I need to talk to you about."

"Does this have anything to do with Cal?" she asked settling in a seat.

"I have a hypothetical question for you. What if someone is attacked and they don't report it. Are they breaking a law?"

"No."

"What if during that attack they see someone else being attacked, and again they don't report it right away. Is that against the law?"

"Now you're getting into the gray area," Alexis frowned. "Normally most DA's and police officers don't say much because there is the fear element, of one victim to deal with. A victim could be hurt themselves, or in terror for their life, so it gives them some leeway in reporting things. But it is better for the person if they report what they know sooner rather then later. Why?"

Sonny ignored her question for a minute. He wanted to protect Emily, but he knew her, she would want to say what happened. She would probably need to tell people what happened to her, what she had seen with Elizabeth. She would have to do that to heal, he knew from personal experience that it was impossible to heal if you tried to pretend nothing happened. But he also wanted more time for Jason and him to try to find Elizabeth before the cops got involved. If the cops did find out, Lucky could get violent with them, and they might shoot him before they found out about Elizabeth, and he couldn't afford that. No she couldn't afford that. The Quartermaine's would be a problem eventually as well, although she was over 18 she did still live with them, she didn't come home. And all those injuries would need to be explained away some how.

"Sonny," Alexis touched his hand to get his attention. "I need some more information before I can give you the best advice."

"For now it goes no farther," he waited for her nod. "Emily showed up here last night, she had been beaten. She said Lucky did it."

Alexis gasped. "How bad is she hurt?"

"Physically she'll recover," he sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. "There's more. She walked in on him attacking Elizabeth, she thinks she saw him kill her."

"Elizabeth, Lucky killed Elizabeth?" Alexis pinched the bridge of her nose and tried to fathom that. It seemed to unreal for her to believe, this was going to kill Nikolas.

"Maybe. She came here and wanted to talk to Jason, I got him here for her," he chose his next words carefully. "I then went and checked out the studio where this happened. There was a lot of blood but no Elizabeth, we can't find her either alive or dead."

She ignored the fact that he more than likely broke into the studio to concentrate on the most important thing, which was Emily. "I take it the police don't know about this yet?"

"I doubt it."

"Okay," she got to her feet and began to pace, she always thought better when she moved. "It would be better for Emily if she went to the police, rather than waiting for the police to find her. You said she was hurt, it was serious?"

"Head injuries, broken ribs."

"Alright we can use that," she thought about what she had been trained to do in this situation for a second and pushed it aside. "We can probably get another six or seven hours out of that because of the injury. We say she was trying to recuperate enough that she could tell the police."

He noticed she didn't mention Jason and his conspicuous absence from the apartment. Alexis was smart, she knew he was probably out looking for Elizabeth now. She also found a way to give them more time to try to find things out. "Will you be here when we need to call them?"

"Of course." She stopped speaking when Pete entered the room and crossed over to Sonny to whisper something in his ear. Whatever Pete had said it was bad news, judging from the way Sonny clenched his fists as he listened.

"Thanks," he told Pete in dismissal, and then got to his feet and crossed to Alexis.

"Pete overheard Taggert and Garcia talking," he told her quietly taking her hands. "There was a shooting, it was at Nikolas' house."

"What?" she shook her head in denial. "No that can't be right."

"That's what he heard."

"I got to go," she started backing away from him. "I need to find Nikolas, Stefan, I need to leave."

Sonny hurried to the door and opened it for her. "Pete have Adam bring the car around and have him take her where she needs to go."

"Thanks," Alexis said briefly before hurrying to her apartment across the hall.

"Alexis call me when you know something," he called after her.

Sonny headed back inside and sand wearily on the couch. A shooting at Nikolas Cassadine's house, he wondered if that had anything to do with Lucky. Christ he hoped not.

****

~P.C.P.D. Lab~

"How are those tests coming?" Whitey demanded.

"I've done one more since the last time you asked," Brian replied. He knew Whitey was a bear to work for. Normally you looked past it, but today it was like something had crawled up his ass and died there.

"Well get busy," Whitey ordered, then moved onto the next tech.

Brian sighed and pulled the next bullet out of the stockpiled bullets they had, and checked it to see if it was a match to one they had retrieved from Audrey Hardy.

"Tara, why haven't you downloaded this yet?" Whitey picked up a print card and waved it at her.

"Hertz wanted me to load these prints he retrieved from the Rogers beating," she explained. "Since his was a murder, and yours was an attempted murder, I did his first."

Brian hid a winch. Tara was new here, only her fourth day, so she didn't know any better. But she was about to find out what happened if you put someone else before what Whitey requested.

"You thought?" Whitey repeated. "What gives you the idea that you can do that? You don't think unless I tell you to, you don't breathe unless I tell you too. What you had three courses in criminology in college and you think that is enough to make you smarter then me, when I've been doing this for 35 years?"

"No…"

Shut up Tara, Brian thought.

"What you are is a drone. You do what I tell you to do, when I tell you to do it. You don't think, you input," Whitey's voice rose but no one in the lab looked over, they didn't want to be his next target.

"I'll do it right now," her voice was low.

"Move," Whitey snapped.

"What?"

"Move," he pulled on her chair and she jumped out. He sat and hurriedly typed a few things and then inputted the print. "You see how easy that was," he hit another key and split the screen in two. "You can run two comparisons at once." he got to his feet now that his material was being run he was in a better mood again. "If you don't know how to do something Tara just ask," he patted her arm then moved away.

Brian shook his head, when Tara sank back in her seat. "That was a crash course in Whitey 101."

She watched the fingerprints flick through her computer at a dizzying speed. "I hope I never need a refresher course."

****

~Cottage~

"What do we have?" Garcia asked jumping out of the car as soon as he stopped it.

"A neighbor reported hearing shots and phoned it in. She reported seeing a young man," the officer consulted his notes. "A blonde in bloody jeans and a white shirt, run from the scene about 10 minutes after the shot. The first unit arrived on the scene about 3 minutes after that. The front door was open, we found the first victim, dead of a gunshot wound on the landing. The second was on the living room floor, he has a head injury but is still alive," he held up a paper bag containing a .38. "We recovered this, it's been fired recently, it may be the murder weapon."

Taggert heard the report, from a distance, his eyes locked on the open door of the cottage. He moved slowly towards it, when he saw an ambulance worker walk out of the door carrying a stretcher. He hurried to the stretcher hoping to see his sister on it, his footsteps faltered when he saw it was Nikolas. The attendant's wheeled the stretcher by him, and continued on to the waiting ambulance.

Taggert headed for the cottage door, only to stop when Garcia intercepted him. "You don't want to see this."

"Move Garcia," his voice was eerily calm and detached.

"Marcus if it is her then you shouldn't…"

"Don't you see it's because it might be her that I need to see this," he countered. 

Garcia sighed and stepped back letting Marcus past him and into the house.

****

~GH~

Pain, it seemed to radiate from everywhere, but everywhere wasn't as large as it should have been. She seemed to feel nothing below her ribcage. Why was there pain and then nothingness? She tried to open her eyes, but it was so hard. She used what little energy she had and finally opened one eye.

Bright, the light was so bright she immediately closed the eye again. Better to be in the dark then see the bright light. Leave me alone her mind screamed when someone began to talk to her. Let me drift in the dark, but the voice persisted.

"Audrey can you open your eyes?"

Audrey felt the pull of that voice and forced her eyes open again, she blinked heavily and drew the person in focus. "B-bob..."

"Don't try to talk," Bobbie cut her off, bringing a glass with a straw to her lips. "Drink."

Audrey did as she was told, some of the fire in her throat receded. 

"Do you know where you are?" Bobbie asked gently.

"GH," she answered. But why? Why was she here? Why did she hurt? She blinked again and the memory slammed into her. Elizabeth, Lucky, blood, gun, Lucky, Elizabeth. "Elizabeth."

"We'll get her for you Audrey," Bobbie said quickly hoping to ease the worry that appeared in Audrey's eyes.

"Save Elizabeth," she managed to get the words out. "Save her."

"Save her from who?" Bobbie asked. "Audrey do you know who hurt you?"

"L-lucky," Audrey gasped. "Save her from Lucky."

Bobbie looked at her in shock, was Audrey delirious? "What?"

"Lucky shot me, he's after Elizabeth," she felt herself getting weaker. "Help Elizabeth, help he…"

"Audrey," Bobbie whispered, but it was too late, Audrey was unconscious again. 

She backed away from the bed and moved towards the desk in the other room. Audrey seemed lucid, she knew who she was, she knew where she was, but she also said Lucky had shot her. That couldn't be right, Lucky wouldn't shoot her.

"Bobbie are you okay?" Kevin asked after seeing her freeze in one place for a few minutes.

"Audrey woke up," Bobbie answered absently.

"That's good," he paused. "Isn't it?"

"She said Lucky was the one who shot her," the words slipped out before she had a chance to stop them.

"Christ," Kevin bowed his head. His biggest fear was finally coming true.

"You don't seem surprised," Bobbie studied his face. "You believe her?"

"Let the police know," Kevin dodged her question.

"Kevin," she caught his arm before he could walk away. "He's my nephew. What is going on? He isn't capable of this."

"If you love him, call the police," he pulled free and walked away.

Bobbie crossed to the phone and dialed a number from memory. "Lesley I need to talk to Laura … I don't care if she's out of town, I want you to get her to call me in the next five minutes, I'm at the hospital … Tell her it is the most important call she ever had to make … Damn'it Lesley just do it." She snapped and hung up the phone.

Lucky it couldn't be possible that he had done this. It just couldn't be. Audrey and Kevin had to be wrong. _"Help Elizabeth."_ She looked at the phone, Kevin said to call the police, but could she do that, could she turn in her own nephew? 

__

"Help Elizabeth."

****

~Cottage~

The first thing he saw when he walked in the room was the stark white chalk outline that surrounded her on the landing. 

Flash went a camera as they recorded the scene.

Next he focused on the black body bag, the one that two attendants were putting her in.

Flash

Her hair caught under the bag, and one of the attendants pulled it free and tucked it inside of the bag.

Flash

He heard the sound of the zipper being brought up along the side and closing her inside that dark and slick bag.

Flash

__

"But I don't want to go to school today," Gia pouted. "Macy Widdoes will be there."

"So what if she is?" Marcus asked walking beside her on the way to their respective schools.

"She's mean," Gia kicked at the sidewalk. "I don't like her."

"Wasn't she your best friend yesterday?" he asked half-heartedly he was trying to figure out a way to get another five bucks so he could by his history report from, Verne.

"She isn't anymore. She said I wasn't really black."

That caused him to focus on her. "What?"

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "She said I was too white to be black, but Teresa Monroe, said I was too black to be white."

"Fuck," he shook his head and crouched beside her. "They are both jerks and neither one of them are your friend. You're Gia Campbell, you're my sister, and you're so much better then they are."

"Really?"

"Yes, if either one of them says anything to you again," he took her hand and curled her fingers in a fist. "I want you to hit them in the stomach, and then run like hell."

"Marcus," she giggled.

"Okay I know it will be hard but ignore them. When they are fat old ladies sitting on a stoop with five kids and a bum husband in jail, do you know where you'll be?"

"I'll be far away, and rich and famous," she answered her eyes sparkling again. She caught sight of her bus and began to hurry to it. "Marcus," she paused down the street. "No matter where I go, you'll always be my big brother, right? Because you always take care of me, and I don't want to lose you."

"You won't, now scat."

Flash

She had made it, she was famous, and she was working on being rich. "Give me a minute," he told a tech, and dropped beside her, before he could close the bag.

Flash

Her eyes were open, but other then that her face was smooth, peaceful, no mark of violence on it. She looked beautiful. He traced her cheek in goodbye, "You were so much better then you ever thought you were."

Flash

He grasped the zipper and slowly hid her beautiful face from the world again.

****

~Boxcar~

She's dead, she's dead, she's dead. The words seemed to echo in his brain, but he couldn't quite understand them. She couldn't be dead. She was too full of life to be dead. She was a fighter, she wanted to live, she wanted to paint, she wanted to see Italy, she couldn't be gone.

Johnny got awkwardly to his feet. Jason still hadn't moved. "Jason," he carefully touched his arm.

Jason's eyes remained locked on her body. He refused to believe that she was dead. He refused to think that he was too late to save her, in this place of all places, where she had once saved his life, she couldn't have lost her own here. "No."

"Jason I'm sorry."

"No," Jason shook his head. "She's not dead," he focused on Johnny then. "Don't you see I would know if she was dead, I would feel it and I don't."

"Jason look, she's right there," Johnny pointed to her.

Jason turned and focused on the body again, and this time he noticed some changes, and the more he studied her, the more relieved he felt. "It's not her."

"What?" Johnny asked.

"It's not her."

"Jason I know you want to believe that she's okay but…"

"No, listen to me Johnny," he crouched by the body. "Whoever this girl is she is not Elizabeth. This girl has a tattoo," he brushed the hair from her left shoulder exposing a tip of a tattoo, that must have continued on her back. "Elizabeth doesn't have a tattoo."

"She could have gotten one after you left town."

"No she wouldn't have, she doesn't like needles or pain," he explained. "She got a splinter once and had to use a needle to get it out, she couldn't do it I had to do it, she would never get a tattoo."

Jason turned back to the body. "Also Emily said she has been losing weight, and although this girl is about the right height, she is heavier then Elizabeth especially across the bust," he pointed.

Now that Jason mentioned that Johnny noticed that discrepancy. Not that he went around checking her bust or anything but, the difference was apparent.

Finally Jason reached out to tip up her head.

"Wait," Johnny crouched on the other side of the body. "I have gloves on. Her face is damaged her features are unclear, there is nothing to see, we can't tell from her face."

"I know," Jason spoke quietly. He didn't want to disturb the girl, although this wasn't Elizabeth, she was still an innocent girl who had died violently. He wanted to be respectful of her privacy in death, but he knew Johnny wasn't convinced yet, and there was one more possibility to convince him. "Pry open one of her eyes."

"Jason," Johnny shook his head.

"Please."

Johnny sighed and did as he requested, it was harder then it looked. Normally after death, the eyelids opened automatically, but the heavy damage and blood around the eyes, had matted them closed.

"What color are they?" Jason asked.

"Green," Johnny answered then quickly lowered the head again. "Elizabeth's are brown, sometimes blue."

"But never green," Jason finished for him.

"Sonofabitch," Johnny mumbled.

"Lucky," Jason all but snarled the name.

"What?" Johnny looked up and saw Jason's attention was focused on the wall behind the body and he turned to look too. "That's just sick." Was all he could say. The wall around the body had photos of Elizabeth as well, but these were different then the others. They were photos of her and her bruises, of the wounds on her skin. Lucky had documented his beatings with a camera. He didn't even try to stop Jason when he reached out and pulled one from the wall.

"One way or the other Lucky doesn't walk away from this, neither does Helena," Jason kept his eyes trained on the photo. "If something happens to me, you'll finish it right?" He looked up at Johnny then.

"I promise."

Jason nodded and carefully put the photo in his back pocket. "Do you hear that?"

Johnny frowned and listened as well, he could hear the faint sounds of a phone ringing. He followed Jason to the door, then jumped to the grass and began to search the ground for the ringing phone.

"Found it," Jason said the same time it stopped ringing. "It's Elizabeth's," he remembered her face when she got the phone. She'd had joked saying she was important now, because she needed a cell phone, she liked to take it with her everywhere.

"Check the last number dialed, maybe it will give us a lead," Johnny said picking up the lock Jason had shot off and the chain. Since Jason had touched them it was better just to take it with them.

Jason hit some numbers. "Shit," he muttered when he recognized the number.

****

~Cottage~

Taggert walked blindly out into the sun, but he didn't even notice.

"Lieutenant," one of the ambulance attendants' called to him.

Taggert looked over and then forced his feet to move towards the ambulance. "What."

"He's semi-conscious and asking for you," he jerked a thumb at Nikolas.

"Nikolas," Taggert moved closer, he could see the grief in Nikolas' eyes. He had never even considered that Nikolas might have been the one who shot her, but if he had, the loss he saw in the other man's eyes would have convinced him he was wrong. "Who did this?"

"Lucky," he choked out his brother's name. "It was Lucky," and then he was out again.

Stunned and trying to process that revelation Taggert moved slowly back over to his car where Garcia was talking on the radio.

"Can you say that again Whitey?" Garcia asked.

__

"We found some interesting things," Whitey's voice came over the staticky radio. "I got a match on those prints I took from Audrey Hardy's house. Seems the same print was lifted from a homicide last night. Looks like the same perp that did Audrey did Calvert Rogers as well."

Garcia kept a close eye on Taggert but so far he had no reaction to Whitey's words.

__

"The funny thing is those prints match a dead guy."

"What?"

__

"The prints I pulled off the wall on Audrey Hardy, and Hertz pulled off a dented trunk lid, both match a Lucas Lorenzo Spencer, who according to the computer died in April 1999."

"Lucky?" Garcia repeated in surprise, but Taggert just nodded.

__

"Also the bullet we retrieved from Audrey Hardy, the grooves on it matched grooves on a bullet from a shooting in 1998. We don't have the gun, but we know who it was registered to, it was Calvert Rogers again."

"What was the serial number?" Taggert asked Garcia and picked up the .38 that was still in the bag.

"Whitey what was the serial number on the gun?"

__

"187654."

Taggert nodded. "It matches."

"Are you saying Lucky killed Calvert, shot Audrey, and then ended up here?" Garcia asked.

"Where he killed Gia and injured his brother," Taggert finished for him. "Yes that's what I'm saying.

__

"There's more, we got a call from the hospital. Audrey named her shooter," Whitey spoke again. "Again it was the dead guy Spencer."

Taggert reached over and took the radio from Garcia, he flicked to a new frequency and called Dispatch. "Lily I need you to put out an APB on one Lucas Lorenzo Spencer, you will find all pertinent details on him, in a file under the Ted Wilson homicide. He is wanted for the attempted murder of Audrey Hardy, Nikolas Cassadine, and the murders of Calvert Rogers, and Gia… Gia Campbell. He's considered to be armed and dangerous, so tell them not to take any chances, if necessary shoot first."

When he finished the order he dropped the radio and moved away from the car to look at the woods beyond the house.

__

"You'll always be my big brother right? Because you always take care of me and I don't want to lose you."

"I will take care of you Gia, I will avenge you." Taggert vowed.


	12. Innocence Lost

****

Babble: I've been leading up to this chapter for awhile I can't wait to hear what you think of it. I really hope you like it and drop me a line. To all of those who regularly reply thanks a lot, it means more than you know.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

****

Her Greatest Mistake

Innocence Lost

Chapter 11

****

~Penthouse~

Sonny closed his eyes and wearily leaned back against the couch. He was physically exhausted but his mind was wired. Memories were assailing him from all directions fueling his guilt, his anger, his fear. He smelled her perfume before she sat beside him, and he reached for her hand but kept his eyes closed.

Carly took his hand and kept quiet. She was surprised that he had reached out to her, but she was also relieved. She rested her head on his shoulder content with the silence.

"I keep thinking about Deke." Sonny's voice broke the quiet after a few minutes. "I know, I shouldn't be, Lucky is totally different them Deke, but I can't help it."

"It's only natural that you would Sonny. I think a part of him is always on the back of your mind." Sonny's biggest fear, besides her or Michael dying because of him, was of turning into Deke. He was smart man, he knew sometimes kids began to act like the adults who raised them. That terrified Sonny. It had taken her time to realize that, but once she had some of Sonny's behavior had made sense to her.

"I know, but Elizabeth isn't my mother and Lucky isn't Deke." He opened his eyes and stared blindly at the cold fireplace. "Do you know how strange it is for me to even think that Lucky is capable of this? I've known that kid for close to 8 years." He turned to look at her. "I'm sorry I forgot he's your cousin."

"It's okay we were never close, in fact until he started working at Deception I hardly ever spoke to him." She was quiet for a minute while she remembered. "Before the fire I had spoken to him on a few occasions, he was cocky, of course being Luke's son he had to be." She smiled wryly. "I always got the sense the few times I did see him that he was looking right through me, that he could smell whatever con I was pulling."

"Lucky was always sharp. He got in over his head a few times but he was always smart. Once not to long after Lulu was born, there was a problem at their house. Gunmen were trying to kill Luke and me. I grabbed Lucky and shielded him." One of the reasons he had always remained loyal to the Spencers even after Luke had turned on him, was because of that night. "He held it together pretty good. Now when I look at what he's done…"

"Don't," Carly interrupted him. "You saved him when he was a boy and you should have. You would never have forgiven yourself if you hadn't. What happened to change Lucky happened after the fire. You didn't know it would happen, no one did. You love to take the blame for things that can't possibly be your fault, but this time you can't do that." She tugged on his hand until he looked at her. "The Lucky that came back after the fire was different, he was a new person, he wasn't close to anyone anymore. He was angry and confused, he wasn't confident anymore. He wasn't the cousin I once knew, so I doubt he was the boy you knew, either."

"No." He had always been drawn to Lucky, most people were. The kid had been a livewire. But since his return he hadn't felt that, it seemed like Lucky had become a stranger.

They were quiet for awhile each trapped in their own thoughts. Carly knew she had to tell him the truth, she would never be able to live with herself if she didn't. "Sonny there's something you need to know."

Pete knocked on the door and opened it slightly. "Zander Smith is here, and he's pretty upset."

Sonny ran a hand over his face. "Sorry." He told her before getting up and nodding at Pete to let him in.

"I'm sorry Sonny, but it's really important." Zander spoke as soon as he walked in. "I think something's happened to…" he broke off when he noticed Carly on the couch. "Am I interrupting?"

"No Zander." Grateful for the reprieve Carly got to her feet. "I'll be upstairs."

"Thanks Carly." Sonny smiled at her for a minute more before facing Zander again. "Now what's wrong?"

"It's Emily." Zander stepped by Sonny nervously running a hand through his hair. "We were supposed to meet last night, but she never showed up or called. Tammy said she ran out of Kelly's like someone was chasing her. I went to her house but she never came home, she didn't even call Reginald." He turned to face Sonny. "She always calls Reginald, he runs interference for her with the family. I can't reach Nikolas, Lucky and Elizabeth are out of town, and I can't find her anywhere. I know that it's been quiet with Sorel in jail, but I'm afraid something's happened to her."

With Jason's words ringing in his ears, along with Zander's worried ramblings, Sonny knew he had to make a decision. He had studied Zander while he was speaking, and all he could see was concern and love in his eyes when he spoke of Emily. It had taken time, but he had finally grown to like Zander, but that didn't make him blind to the fact that Zander was a hothead.

"Sonny can you help me find her?"

"Sit down Zander, I need to tell you something." Sonny moved to the table.

"Sonny…"

"Sit." Sonny snapped, when the boy had, he went on. "What I'm going to tell you does not leave this penthouse. And you will not go off half-cocked. You are going to be quiet and listen to what I have to say."

Zander nodded he knew from Sonny's tone it wasn't going to be good.

"Emily was hurt last night. Don't worry she's going to be okay." Sonny went on quickly when Zander paled. "Physically she will anyway, emotionally, she's going to need some help and that's where you come in."

Zander clenched his hands, anger was fighting for release, and it took all he had to battle it back. The words, Emily was hurt kept hitting him again, and again. "Who did it?" He needed to know who he was going to kill.

"Lucky." Sonny dropped the bomb and waited.

"That sonofabitch." Zander stood so fast the chair hit the floor. "How could he do that to her? He's supposed to be her best friend." He began to stalk the room, all the lectures Lucky had given to Emily about him, rang in his ears. He wanted to yell, he wanted to hit something. No he wanted to hit Lucky. Without being aware of it, he picked up a glass from the wetbar and threw it into the fireplace.

Sonny waved Pete off when he opened the door at the noise, and just watched Zander work off the worst of his temper.

Zander turned finally and saw Sonny watching him from the table, realization came crashing in and he set a glass down, before if joined the others. "I'm sorry, I was just mad."

"That's fine." Sonny dismissed the apology with a wave of his hand. "I want you to let your anger out, I want you to yell, to scream, to break things, if you have too. I want you to get it all out of your system now." He lowered his voice and his dark eyes seemed to pierce Zander from across the room. "Because when you go upstairs and see her, you are not taking the anger with you."

Zander automatically looked towards the stairs.

"Zander."

Sonny's voice was low, but compelling and he focused on him again. "Yeah?"

"I mean it. When you see her, you're not going to go on about how you're going to kill Lucky. You're not going to say that you feel bad because you weren't there for her, when she needed you. You won't bring up the fact that her best friend shouldn't have done that to her." Sonny got to his feet and moved closer. "All of those dark thoughts running through your head, all those revenge fantasies, have no place here, and you're not going to let her see them."

Zander's eyes kept moving from Sonny to the stairs and back again. He could hear the words but it was hard to understand them.

"The only thing you will do when you see her, is what she wants you to do. You won't ask her questions but will listen to her. If she wants to talk, let her, if she wants to cry, let her, hold her hand or her if she needs it. As angry as you are at Lucky, you need to remember that he is her oldest friend."

At those words the worst of the anger drained from Zander. Sonny was right, vengeance didn't have any place around Emily, especially now.

"She is reeling, trying to deal with the fact that Lucky hurt her, that Lucky hurt Elizabeth, that he might have even killed Elizabeth in front of her." Sonny hammered his point home.

"Jesus, Elizabeth too?"

"Yes. I know how you feel Zander, nothing hurts worse then seeing someone you love in pain. I know you want to kill Lucky. But she doesn't have enough in her, to worry about what you're going to do. She's holding on by a thread as it is, and she needs you." Sonny shifted in front of him. "Don't make me regret telling you."

"How badly is she hurt?"

"The bruises on her face are the most noticeable, bruised ribs and wrist. She is in pain, but most of it is inside of her." Sonny held his place blocking Zander's approach to the stairs. "Can you do this?"

"Yes." Zander met his gaze and after a minute Sonny stepped back to let him pass. He paused on the stairs keeping his back to Sonny. "Lucky is going to be handled eventually right?"

Sonny thought of the boy, with the grin and the way he had sold earthworm farms as his first business. The brown-eyed boy who had convinced him to house and protect an oversized dog, in his apartment over Luke's, when Edward Quartermaine had wanted it destroyed. The boy who had sat beside him at a campfire, and hadn't even flinched when his father had pierced his ear. The boy who had asked Stone for help building his prized go-cart. And he closed his heart on the memory of that boy that was lost forever. "Yes."

****

~Kelly's~

Taggert paused on the steps leading down into the diner and waited while Garcia finished speaking with a lab tech. He was doing his best not to feel anything, only to concentrate on his job. He had been accused of being single-minded when it came to his work, and now he needed that. He needed that because even though he tried not to think about it, he was aware of every minute ticking off of his watch. Minutes of time until his mother arrived from New Jersey. His aunt had already told her about Gia, but he knew she was holding out hope until she saw Gia herself, and then the fall would be brutal.

He had been the picture of control as he searched the photography studio at Deception. Even though photos of his sister were hung everywhere he looked. The irony of the man who killed her being the one who "shot" her everyday was not lost on him.

He'd stayed in control when he'd searched Lucky's room as well. He knew that the instant it looked like he was losing it, he would be pulled from the investigation and he couldn't have that. He needed to be in the loop when it came to the hunt for Lucky, he needed to be the one who…. He felt the hate building in him and he battled it back, he had to stay in control.

"Ready Marcus?" Garcia asked from his side.

"Yeah." Taggert began descending the steps. "What was your take on the rooms?"

"I didn't like what we found in Elizabeth's, the bloody first aid kit, the locks, the knife."

"Hannah didn't have those locks." Taggert informed him. "And those scratches on the closet and bathroom doors weren't there when she lived there."

Garcia noted that then went on. "As bad as that was though, Lucky's room was worse, at least from a psychological standpoint."

"I knew this was coming." Taggert paused at the bottom of the stairs, his eyes sweeping the room.

Garcia didn't rise to the bait, he was a few credits shy of his criminal psych degree and the guys on the force ribbed him about it to no end. "Mock me if you want, but what the psychologists find in the rooms of assailants, normally tell the tale."

"So enlighten me."

"His room was too precise, anal." Garcia consulted his notes. "The socks and underwear were precisely an 1/8 of an inch apart, the bed was made with military corners. Even the two pieces of paper in the trash were folded into cubes before they were laid in the trash. The room was very ordered, nothing out of place. There wasn't even so much as a stray hair in his comb or brush."

"I noticed that." Taggert took a seat at the counter and watched Tammy move around the kitchen through the window. "That would make sense for me, but Lucky has a lot of hair."

"Exactly," warming to the subject, Garcia hurried on. "I rousted Lucky a few times at the boxcar. The kid wasn't a slob, but he was nothing like this."

"I know what you mean, the photo studio was the same way." He focused on Garcia. "So what are your conclusions?"

"Normally when a person is that ordered in their life, there is someplace else that they go, a secret place so to speak, where they let the anger out. Their rages would be extremely violent, their kills very messy." He trailed off remembering Gia too late.

"So he's probably got a hotspot somewhere else." Taggert kept his voice even by driving his nails into the palm of his hands. "That makes sense, his room would be to public of a place for him to let loose."

"Yeah."

"So where would that place be?" Taggert wondered aloud. "My bet is the boxcar, he's familiar with it, and its isolated.'

"I agree." Garcia got to his feet and noticed Tammy in the kitchen. "Did you get the feeling that Tammy was expecting us?"

Taggert studied the frizzy haired blonde. "You noticed that too?"

"Yeah, not that she will tell us anything. First rule of the streets, never talk to cops."

"Right." Taggert trailed Garcia out the door. "We should go by Elizabeth's studio first."

"You know we don't have a warrant to enter and search. The only reason we got into Elizabeth's room here was because Tammy let us." Garcia paused in the Courtyard. "And there has been no answer on her phone there."

"I know, but maybe we can find a reason to enter." Taggert headed for the docks.

Garcia let out a sigh and followed him.

Tammy watched them move towards the docks before heading to the phone.

****

~Penthouse~

"Sonny I need to tell you something." Carly spoke quickly before she could lose her nerve.

Sonny frowned at the look on her face. He knew that look it was a mixture of guilt, fear, and defiance, she always had it on her face when one of her plans was about to blow up or had just blown up in her face. "What did you do Carly?"

Carly shook her head, he knew her so well. "It's about Elizabeth." She broke off when the door opened and Jason walked in followed by Johnny. She took one look at his face and knew it was bad. "Are you okay Jase?"

Jason's hand tightened on the phone, and he focused on Sonny.

"What did you find?" Sonny asked.

Jason ignored the question. "I meant to ask you when was the last time you spoke to Elizabeth?"

Sonny heard the ice in Jason's voice and it worried him. "About a week ago at Kelly's. She was working when I had lunch with Benny."

"How about you Carly?" He turned to look at her.

Carly saw his eyes and knew it was too late to tell him first, he already knew. "I spoke to her last night."

****

~GH~

"I'm sorry Roy, but I'm waiting for a call, and with what happened to Audrey, there is no way I can get out of here early today." Bobbie sighed wearily and tugged at her earring.

__

"It's okay Bobbie." Roy pressed the phone closer to his ear, when a semi went past him.

"Look Tony got called into emergency surgery and I promised to give Betty a reprieve from the kids. I was going to take Lucas and Georgie to the carnival at the Park. Can you do it instead?" She looked at her watch it had been over an hour and Laura still hadn't called her.

__

"Sure. I'll have my cell with me, so when you want to meet us give me a call and I'll tell you where."

"Thanks Roy." Bobbie hung up quickly when someone caught her eye. "Kevin." She hurried around the nurse's desk and after him.

Kevin turned around and braced himself when he saw the determined look on her face. "Yes Bobbie?"

"What do you know about Lucky that makes you believe he would shoot Audrey?"

"I'm afraid that's confidential Bobbie. I can't discuss what happens in a therapy session without the patient's permission, you know that."

"Damn'it Kevin. Lucky is my nephew, and he's been accused of attempted murder. I had to turn him into the cops." Bobbie caught his arm when he turned away. "I need information."

This was the part of his job that he hated. But there was no way he would violate doctor/patient confidentiality. "I'm sorry Bobbie, I can't."

"God." She slapped a gurney in frustration. "Give me some help here."

"Have you heard from Luke?"

She blinked at the change of subject. "No."

"Maybe you should try to find him." His eyes held hers a beat longer then necessary trying to convey the message. "Maybe he can help you understand things." He began to walk away. "I'd find him if I were you."

"Big brother, what have you done now?" Bobbie wondered aloud.

****

~Penthouse~

"What?" Sonny cried. "Is this what you wanted to tell me?"

"Yes it's what I've been trying to tell you." Carly admitted before looking past him. "Jase?"

"What did she say?" Jason demanded his expression, cold.

"I didn't know who she was at first, she wouldn't give her name." Carly began slowly. "She asked to talk to Sonny but he was in the shower. I recognized her voice then, and I asked her why she was calling." She fidgeted again.

"What did she say Carly?" Sonny asked quietly.

"She begged me to get you for her," Carly admitted. "I didn't know. Sonny you know how I am, I demanded to know what she wanted, and then she hung up. That all she said I swear. She asked for you, and when I wanted to know why, she hung up." She clutched at Sonny's hand. "You believe me right?"

Sonny closed his eyes when he saw the plea in her brown eyes. This was quintessential Carly, her jealousy seemed to be the largest part of her. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because we were going out." She hedged.

"Would you have told me at all if this hadn't happened?"

"Probably not, I would have just confronted Elizabeth today instead." She turned towards Jason. "I didn't know Jase. You know that right?"

"Why didn't you say anything before?"

"I was going to…"

"You waited until I already knew Carly." Jason interrupted her, holding up the phone. "The penthouse was the last number dialed by this phone. Do you know why she hung up so abruptly? What she was staring at while she was begging you to let her speak to Sonny?" He caught her arms, holding her in place when she tried to move away. "She was at the boxcar and she was staring at a dead girl that Lucky had beat to death."

Carly gasped and tears spilled from her eyes. "I didn't know."

"You didn't let her tell you. Your damn insecurity, your jealousy, wouldn't let you listen to her." Jason shook her lightly. "Why didn't you listen to her?"

"Jason." Sonny stepped closer. "Let her go."

"He covered the wall with pictures of her, and blood covered those pictures, and there was a brown-haired girl chained to the wall." Jason's eyes drifted off and his grip on her arms loosened. "I thought it was her, for a few horrifying minutes, I thought it was her, that I was too late and she was dead."

"Jason." Carly moved closer and wrapped her arms around his neck. "It wasn't her. Do you hear me, it wasn't her."

His arms tightened convulsively around her and he closed his eyes, for an instant he let himself bend, and he buried his face in her hair.

Sonny jerked his head in the direction of the table and Johnny trailed him over there, while Carly whispered to Jason. "How bad was it?"

"It was worse then Jason described." Johnny admitted tiredly, "I have no idea who the girl is, but I thought it was Elizabeth too. Sonny he tortured her to death."

"Christ." Sonny wasn't even surprised anymore.

"There's more." Johnny looked over at Jason then lowered his voice. "Lucky photographed her."

"That's what Jason said."

"No I mean he kept a record of the abuse."

Did he really think he couldn't be surprised? Sonny shook his head, he could and he could be sickened.

****

~GH~

"Bobbie, Laura's on line 2." Amy Vining called. "Hey let me talk to her when you're done."

Bobbie ignored her and grabbed the phone. "Where the hell have you been?"

__

"I don't like to be summoned Bobbie." Laura snapped. "I was out with Lulu, now what's wrong? You made it sound like it was life or death."

Bobbie closed her eyes and tried to hold onto her temper. Laura and her relationship had always been eventful at best, sometimes even hateful, but now wasn't the time for that. "You need to get back to town now."

__

"I can't just leave I'm in the middle of some very delicate negotiations."

"Laura I know this is hard for you to grasp but there are more important things then your damn company. And the world of Port Charles doesn't stop moving just because the Saint has left town." Bobbie all but snarled the words. "Get you ass on a plane and get back here." Years of animosity, along with the stress of the last several hours had caught up with her, and Laura was such an easy target to let it out on.

__

Laura felt her own temper begin to spike. "Bobbie what is your problem now?"

"It's your son Lucky, remember him?"

__

"Is he hurt?" Laura shot to her feet.

"No he's not hurt, at least not physically." Bobbie tried to bite back her temper. "But he needs your help."

__

"I'll be back in town on Tuesday."

"Laura he's wanted by the police, he shot Audrey Hardy in the back last night." Bobbie cried loudly, causing Amy to drop her clipboard in shock.

__

"No." Laura sank weakly back in her chair. "No he wouldn't do that."

"Audrey named him herself," she softened her tone. She hadn't wanted to tell Laura like that. "If you know how to reach Luke you better call him."

"I'll try." Laura hung up the phone. This had to be a mistake. Her little boy wasn't capable of shooting anyone, much less Audrey. Her mind unwillingly replayed a conversation she'd had with Luke right before he left town.

__

"I'm just asking you to keep a close eye on the Princess." Luke straddled the chair.

Laura couldn't help but see how uncomfortable he was in her office. "Luke I always do. Is there something you're not telling me? Is there a new problem?"

"More like an old one." Luke muttered.

"What?"

"Laura keep an eye on her and on Lucky. You need to keep a close eye on Lucky."

"Luke he's in therapy, I see him every day, he's getting better." Laura leaned over her desk, closer to him. "I know he's still pushing you away, but believe me, he's getting better."

"Angel, please promise that you'll watch him." Luke pressed.

Laura frowned, what had Luke known that he hadn't told her?

****

~Kelly's~

"Okay so where do you want to go now?" Roy asked keeping a firm grip on Georgie's hand while he worked on his ice cream cone. He had learned early on that Georgie was a lot like her mother. She tended to wander off as soon as something caught her eye.

"The boats."

"The bumper cars."

Both replies came at the same time and set off the inevitable argument between the kids over what to do first. Roy let out an exasperated sigh and broke into their complaints. "Well since Georgie chose last time, it's time for Lucas to choose. So that means the bumper cars, and then the boats."

Lucas grinned triumphantly at Georgie, and she stuck her tongue out at him in return. It was times like this that he was glad that Hannah had been an only child.

****

~Penthouse Upstairs~

"Do you want some more water?" Zander asked quietly.

"No." Emily kept her head on his chest. She was feeling safer now and for that she was glad. She had been surprised when Zander had walked in, and then relieved when he hadn't pressed her for details, or got mad at what had happened. She couldn't stand to be around anyone that was mad right now.

"Why don't you try to get some sleep?" He was grateful that Carly had warned him what she looked like before he had come in the room. That gave him time to prepare himself, because the marks on her face would have sent him over the edge.

"I can't sleep, every time I start too, I remember," she sighed. "And I don't want to remember, not yet anyway."

"Okay how about some distraction of the mindless sort then?" He asked moving carefully and picked up the TV remote.

"That sounds perfect." Emily stared at the TV while he began the manly art of flipping through the channels at a dizzying speed.

****

~Downstairs~

"Thanks Tammy." Johnny closed his phone and looked at Sonny "Taggert and Garcia just left there, they searched Elizabeth and Lucky's rooms."

"Damn." Sonny pinched the bridge of his nose. "I was hoping we would have more time. I wonder how they caught on."

"Enough Carly." Jason's raised voice reached their ears.

"Jase…" Carly reached out to him again.

"I can't listen to you right now." Jason snapped. "I need to focus on finding her, I can't deal with you and your apologies, when we both know you could care less about her."

"Hold it." She yanked on his arm. "I never liked her that's true, but I never wanted her dead or beaten."

Jason wearily scrubbed a hand down his cheek. "I know that. But I can't be around you right now. I know you didn't want her hurt, that you didn't know what was going on, but she called for help and couldn't get past you."

"Jason." Sonny could see the pain in his wife's face and tried to intervene.

"Sonny the truth, if she told you Elizabeth was on the phone desperate to talk to you, and she wasn't there when you picked it up, you would have checked on her right?"

"Yes." Sonny admitted, noticing Carly's flinch out of the corner of his eye.

"That's what I can't handle. The log on the phone says she called here at 6:40, Emily didn't see Lucky attacking her until around 7:45 or 8:00, there was time to stop it."

"Jason don't second guess things, we can't change what happened. We need to look ahead." Sonny stepped closer. "She's still out there. We're not done yet."

Pete opened the door and whispered something to Johnny.

"Oh Christ." Johnny moved over to the entertainment center on the far wall. "There's something we need to see."

__

"This is Veronica Bowles of WLPC news with the latest in this breaking news report. As we all know the Fourth of July is a time of frivolity and fun, the joyous remembrance of our birth as a nation, and a celebration of that birth. Sadly though, at times it can also be a testimony to the violence of that birth as well." The overly made up, frosted blonde reporter, gestured to a street with well-manicured lawns behind her. "That violence found its way here to this upper middle class neighborhood."

"I know that house." Jason muttered.

__

"The violence found its way to the doorstep of Audrey Hardy, the widow of the late Chief of Staff of General Hospital, and Administrator of the nursing program there. The violence came in the form of an attacker who shot Mrs. Hardy in the back as she attempted to flee her home."

"That's Elizabeth's grandmother." Jason explained needlessly.

Carly couldn't help but remember how nice Audrey had once been to her. She had picked her for the physical therapy position over, Amy Vining. That kindness had changed once her and Tony had gotten together, but for awhile she had been real nice.

__

"Violence also occurred here." Veronica was now on a street in downtown Port Charles. "On Charles Street, a popular walk for lovers, to take in the view of the water, off the nearby docks. But last night someone had something else, besides the view on their minds. Calvert Rogers, a man who worked in the security field protecting the likes of Jason Morgan, Carly Corinthos and Sonny Corinthos, was brutally beaten to death here last night." The image on the screen shifted again and the little word LIVE appeared at the bottom of the screen.

Jason jolted when he recognized the house he used to live in.

****

~Upstairs~

"That's Nikolas' cottage." Emily sat up unmindful of the pain and her tears that had started when she'd heard about Audrey.

__

"Mockingbird Lane is one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Port Charles, but even it's opulence couldn't shelter it from the violence of man. Or the sound of gunshots that shook this neighborhood earlier this morning. Gunshots that left Gia Campbell, the recently named Face of Deception model, dead at the age of 22."

"God." Emily gasped.

__

"It also left Prince Nikolas Cassadine who also lives here, seriously injured." Veronica gestured to the police cars that were still onscreen. "The police have let it be known that the same person is responsible for all of these crimes. Two murders and two attempted murders in the span of less then 18 hours. Killers like this could be called Spree killers. Spree killers are those who kill at random with no specific target in mind. However in this case the term would not apply." Veronica paused briefly trying to draw out the anticipation of her audience.

"In this case the assailant knew each one of his victims, in some cases extremely well. The police have admitted that an APB has been issued for Lucas Lorenzo Spencer, in connection with all of these attacks. You may remember Spencer from a story we did on him about 15 months ago when he returned from the dead…"

"Turn her off." Sonny ordered.

"We have to find Lucky before the cops do." Jason's focus was still on the now dark TV.

"I know." Sonny nodded. "Taggert is going to be all over this, Gia is…was his sister."

"Oh my God." Carly sank limply onto the couch. "I can't believe she's dead." Gia and her had clicked because they were both willing to do whatever they had too, to get the job done. It hadn't always been pretty between them, but they had definitely connected.

"I have to go." Jason headed for the door.

"Wait where are you going?" Sonny stepped in front of him.

"I need to leave, I have to move." Jason spoke haltingly. A feeling had come over him and it was difficult to ignore, he felt like was time running out.

Jason's normally clear eyes were a mixture of emotions and close to being wild. Sonny nodded. "I had Benny checking on her and Lucky's credit cards, he should have something for us by now."

"Let's go." Jason started for the door, only to come up short at Carly's voice.

"Jase…"

"Carly I can't right now." He kept his back to her. "Keep close to Emily." He opened the door and stepped out into the hall, with Johnny close on his heels.

"Sonny are we okay?" She moved over to her husband.

Sonny let out a heavy sigh. "We need to talk about this, but not now." He stepped away and her hand fell to her side. He paused in the door and everything that had happened in the past 12 hours hit him, and he turned around. Before she had a chance to speak she was in his arms and he was kissing her. "I love you and so does Jason, he just needs time."

"I love you too." She rubbed at the lipstick on his lips. "Watch him, he's close to the edge."

****

~Yacht~

__

"Lucky Spencer as he is known is 21 years old, roughly 5'9" with blondish-brown hair and what has been described as vacant blue eyes." A picture of Lucky popped up on the screen.

"Turn that insipid woman off." Helena ordered. "And get me a brandy."

"Yes Madame." Andreas hurried to comply. "Is there anything else you require?" He asked when he served her the drink.

"Yes the Spencer boy's head on a spike." Helena sipped at her drink. "His instability is costing me." She moved to her desk. "I don't like the fact that he broke, I wasn't done with him yet." She picked up a letter opener and tapped the sharp instrument thoughtfully in her hand.

Andreas blanched at the sight of the letter opener. He knew it was the same one she had used to slit his brother's throat.

"Lucky made a mistake by going after Nikolas. The rest I don't care about, but he hurt Nikolas and that is not allowed." She focused on Andreas. "I want him dead before the day is out."

****

~Penthouse Upstairs~

__

"Spencer is believed to be armed and is considered dangerous. If you see him you should not attempt to apprehend him on your own, but contact the authorities immediately." Veronica paused and another picture popped up on the screen. "The police have also put out a material witness warrant for this woman, Elizabeth Webber. Ms. Webber is Spencer's girlfriend and she was last seen yesterday afternoon around 4:00."

"Oh God I'm going to be sick." Emily cried out suddenly.

Zander moved quickly and helped her to the bathroom, holding back her hair, while she was sick.

"How did it happen Zander?" She asked weakly leaning against the cool surface.

"I don't know." He handed her a glass of water.

"He's hurt so many people," her voice was soft. "And yet a part of me is worried about him because he must be so lost, and in so much pain."

"That's just who you are baby. You care, your heart is so big, you can't stop loving him." He helped her to her feet.

"He's been in my life for so long." Emily closed her eyes and hardened her heart to the memories. "I need to go to the police."

****

~GH ER~

__

"Elizabeth Webber is the granddaughter of Audrey Hardy, one of the victims of Spencer's attack. Ms. Webber is 20 years old, she's 5'2" and approximately 115 lbs. Her eye color is brown sometimes blue…"

"I can't believe it." Dr. Karen Wexler turned away from the TV in disbelief. "I have known Lucky for years, and I don't even know how many times Elizabeth has waited on me."

"You can never tell when someone will snap. And from what I've heard of the Spencer's it's amazing he lasted as long as he did." Dr. Chris Ramsey straightened in his chair. "You better get ready."

"Why?"

"Nikolas Cassadine is one of the victims. His Uncle Stefan runs this place. I for one am going to be prepared when he shows up." He shot to his feet when the elevator doors opened. "Speak of the devil." He moved quickly towards the doors. "Mr. Cassadine your nephew is right over here."

Stefan barely spared him a glance. "Why was I not informed immediately when he arrived?"

"Well…" Chris began.

"There is a standard rule that if my nephew or my sister, are ever admitted I am to be notified immediately." Amy Vining of all people had informed him what had happened to Nikolas, the insult of that was enough to make him angry, if the attack hadn't already made him so.

"Mr. Cassadine." Karen spoke from his side. "He's been stabilized, as soon as we get his X-rays back he will be moved into a private room."

"How badly was he injured?"

"He has a severe concussion and a cut on the back of his head that required 21 stitches, but we have ruled out a skull fracture." She paused in front of a door. "Physically he will be fine, but it's his emotional well-being that concerns us."

Stefan nodded in dismissal and stepped inside the room, his eye fell on Nikolas lying on the narrow bed, and his heart filled. Nikolas was, in every way that mattered, his son, and no parent ever wanted their child to be hurt. Their relationship still hadn't recovered from him faking his death, but he couldn't stay away from him. He crossed to Nikolas and took his hand. "Oh Nikolas."

"Uncle." Nikolas opened his eyes, grateful for the distraction. The quiet of the hospital room was too loud in his head. "She's gone."

"I know Nikolas." He tightened his grip on his nephew's hand. "I'm so sorry."

"She wouldn't listen to me. I told her to run, but she wouldn't leave me." Nikolas' eyes filled. "Why wouldn't she leave me?"

"Miss Campbell loved you." The love he had turned a blind eye too for months, was, in hindsight, very obvious. "You don't walk away from someone you love when they are in trouble."

Alexis burst through the doors, and she sighed in relief when she saw Nikolas on the bed. She quickly crossed to his side and took his other hand. "Are you okay?"

"I don't think I'll ever be okay." Nikolas focused on her. "How do I make myself understand that my brother killed the woman I loved?"

"Lucky?" Alexis couldn't hide her surprise.

"He's gone Alexis, my brother is gone." Nikolas murmured. "You two taught me everything good in my life, how to love, how to laugh, to trust, to forgive, everything that was the best part of the Cassadine legacy. The only good part of being a Cassadine I learned from you two." He sighed heavily and went on. "Today I learned about the other side of the Cassadines. The side that hates'. that want's revenge, where vengeance means everything." Nikolas stared blindly at the ceiling, oblivious to the looks passing between Alexis and Stefan.

"I learned how to hate today," he focused on Alexis. "Helena finally taught me something. She taught me to hate. And I do. But not Lucky. I hate her. She's the one who did this, she's the one who killed my brother, and returned a shell of a boy that used to be him. She's the one who killed Gia, my love, and maybe Elizabeth too." Tears slipped from his eyes and he turned to Stefan. "Teach me how to handle the hate Father, because it is choking me."

"Oh my boy." Stefan pulled him into a hug.

Alexis was wiping her eyes when her cell rang. She stepped away from the bed. "Alexis Davis." Her voice was husky.

__

"Alexis its Zander."

"I really can't talk now." 

__

"Wait don't hang up. It's Emily. She's going to the police about…, well it's complicated. She shouldn't go alone."

"I'll meet you there." Alexis said after a minute.

Stefan stepped away from a bed, when a nurse came in to check on Nikolas. "You're leaving now?"

"Nikolas and Gia weren't Lucky's only victims." Alexis explained briefly. "Tell him I'll be back soon."

"Alexis," Stefan stepped after her. "It's time to deal with Helena."

"I've been saying that for years."

****

~Docks~

"Isn't that your sister?" Jay Johnson asked pointing to some people who were getting into a boat.

Maxie Jones turned around to look, she squinted in the sun and saw her sister waving at her. "I don't think so." She turned back and smiled slightly at him, cocking her head to the side. She had been practicing that look, and she thought she looked pretty good when she did it.

"Maxie's ignoring you again." Lucas jeered.

"She's been like that ever since she got breasts." Georgie griped. "I'm never going to get them if it means I have to act like her."

Roy hid his laugh by starting the propeller on the boat. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah." Both kids cried in unison.

"Who's she talking too?' Lucas kept his eye on Maxie. He had always had a crush on her. But it seemed while he kept staying the same, she kept changing and getting older.

"Jaaaaaay." Georgie rolled her eyes. "The only reason she likes him is because he kind of looks like Lucky."

"Lucky Spencer?"

"Yeah you should hear her talk about him." She put her hands over her heart and began to blink rapidly. "He's so smart, and so talented, he taught me some chords on the guitar." She stuck a finger down her throat. "Gag me, I always thought he looked like Shaggy from Scooby Doo."

This time Roy couldn't hide his laugh and the kids joined in.

The next few minutes were the calmest of the day, Roy maneuvered closer to the docks to make the waves Georgie liked, on the second pass, the boat gave a sudden lurch and the engine died.

"You killed it." Lucas accused.

"I'll get it going." Roy pulled on the string but nothing happened, he yanked again. "I think were caught on something," he said while he peered over the side.

****

~Studio~

"Ohhh something stinks." Garcia commented when they reached the third floor.

Taggert looked past him to the studio door and saw a mess of dark bodies squirming by the door. "Man those suckers are big."

"And determined." Garcia said as the rats refused to move until they had almost reached the door. "Looks like someone forgot their ribs."

"Looks like probable cause." Taggert corrected his focus was the bloody handprint on the partially ajar door.

Garcia pulled out his gun and took up a position on the other side of the doorway. Then nodded at Taggert, they swept in through the door, Garcia going low, Taggert high, like they had done countless times before. The sunlight streamed through the windows, showing the room to be empty and destroyed.

"Looks like we found his hunting ground." Taggert muttered, before stiffening when he saw the closed closet door. He tapped Garcia on the shoulder and pointed at the door. Garcia nodded and they carefully made their way through the destruction on the floor. They followed the same drill as before, but this time they both groaned as the odor hit them.

"Jesus what died?" Taggert asked.

"I don't know, but its in there," Garcia gestured to a bag on the floor.

"Open it."

"We can't it needs to be photographed first."

"Why we know who did this, so open the damned bag." The frustration was building inside of Taggert.

"Don't assume." Garcia shot back. "Just wait, I'll get the lab techs over here."

"Fuck that." Taggert reached for the bag and Garcia stopped him.

"Don't lose it now." Garcia could see the temper and the grief in Taggert's eyes. It had been there ever since he had seen Gia, and he made up his mind. "I have a camera, let me shoot it first." He pulled a one-time use camera from his pocket.

Taggert took a deep breath, he needed to stay focused or he would be yanked off the case. He tried to focus on something else. "Why are you carrying around a camera?"

"I was meeting Lily later on, we were going to the concert and then watch the fireworks." Garcia answered without thinking.

"Wait Lily? You mean Lily the dispatcher?"

Garcia closed his eyes, he should have kept his mouth shut. "Yes." He put the camera away and worked on the knot on the bag.

"Brave man, don't you know her old man is psycho?" Psycho the word had a whole new meaning for him now.

"Her and Al are divorced." Garcia defended himself. "That's sick." He cried when he looked in the bag. "It's a decapitated cat."

Taggert sagged against the wall in relief. He had been afraid that something human was in there.

"Call Whitey and get him over here." Taggert ordered carelessly, heading for the door.

"Where to now?" Garcia asked wiping his hands on his handkerchief.

"The boxcar."

****

~Docks~

"Come on Roy." Georgie was coming close to pouting. Not only were they stuck on a dumb boat, on the hottest day of the year, but they were stuck in hearing range of her stupid sister, while she tried to flirt with a boy.

"Yeah put your back into it." Lucas joined in.

"Thanks." Maxie took the snowcone from Jay. She was going to have to be careful not to get anything on her shirt. Besides not wanting to look like a geek, it was her mother's shirt, and she didn't know she had borrowed it. It was really Felicia's fault if something did happen to it though. Felicia was the one that insisted in buying her clothes from the teen stores in the mall.

"Hey looks like your sister is stuck." Cara pointed over Maxie's shoulder, at the trio in the boat. The foursome on the dock moved closer to the edge to check it out.

"Come on Roy." Lucas hissed. He wished his dad were here, he would know how to start a stupid boat.

"Need some help sir?" Jay called down.

Roy heard the faint mocking tone and hid his grimace. "No I've almost got it." He yanked hard on the string and something gave below the water, he sprawled back into the boat as the engine sputtered to life, the boat rocked as a thudding sound came from the water, then began to whine, and smoke poured from it before it died again.

"Oh my god." Cara screamed and turned away from the water.

Georgie looked past Roy and into the water beyond him, and screamed as well.

Maxie's eyes were locked on the white hand that was breaking the water, and the blood surrounding it as the top of someone's head bobbed to the surface. The snowcone slipped from her hand, hitting her shirt, before falling to the ground, taking her innocence with it.

****

~Limo~

"Did you check who else she called?" Sonny broke the silence in the limo.

Jason had been staring at the phone in his hand for so long, it took him a minute to answer the question. "No." He opened it and checked her stored numbers. He was surprised that his cell number was at the top of the list. There were several other names that he recognized. The last number had no name beside it, and he didn't recognize it. "Johnny dial 212-555-2161."

Johnny did as he was told. "Sorry wrong number." He said when it was answered. "It's Dr. Kevin Collins' office."

Jason filed that away for future reference and hit a few more buttons. The phone had the feature that allowed you to see the phone history for two days. "God." The phone clattered to the floorboards.

"What?" Sonny retrieved the phone and checked the display.

"She called my cell 18 times in the past two days." Jason explained. "But that cell only works when I'm in the country, and I wasn't."

Sonny flinched he was the reason Jason had been out of the country. "Do you check the voicemail?"

"I don't even bring it with me," his voice was rough. "It's at the compound in Florida. The only phone I take with me when I'm working is the one you gave me. I always thought if someone else needed to reach me they could go through you." 18 times in two days. Why hadn't he given her the number to the phone he always carried?

"Don't go there." Sonny hissed. "Stay focused."

The limo came to a halt and Johnny got out first, followed by Sonny then Jason.

Johnny noticed a large crowd on the docks by Bannister's Wharf. "Hey Dean what's going on?" He called when he recognized the big man walking towards them.

"Some kids found a body." Dean Gagal explained. "It was wrapped up in something and thrown in the river, a boat's propeller caught it. It's pretty gruesome, there's blood and body parts in the water."

Jason's focus was on the outline of Elizabeth's building. It was so close to the docks and had an unobstructed view of the warehouse. That was one of the reasons he had wanted to stay there.

__

"She was wrapped in something and carried from the room."

His eye moved to the crowd on the docks and he moved closer.

__

"Some kids found a body."

"Jason?" Sonny trailed him in concern.

__

"Carried from the room."

He began to walk quickly.

__

"Wrapped in something."

Jason began to run, he pushed his way through the crowd until he reached the front. One man turned to say something, but stopped when he saw the look on his face. He watched as first one rescue diver appeared at the top of the stairs and then another one. They turned back one on each side of the ladder and began to pull something up on the dock.

He didn't feel anything but recognition when he saw the red throw that she had used to cover her couch, and the brown hair what peeked through the top of the rolled cover produced no response either.

He felt someone move up beside him on his right but he kept his eyes on the docks and the scene unfolding before him. He couldn't seem to hear anything, his world had come down to a hideous red throw that was being laid out about 8 feet in front of him.

The last diver stumbled coming off of the ladder and dropped his end of the throw. The action caused it to unfurl slightly and a pale white hand and arm emerged from the throw and flopped on the dock.

Jason's eyes locked on the arm, and all the air left him in a whoosh.

__

~November 1999~

"Come on please, please." Elizabeth's voice came from behind the counter when Jason entered Kelly's but he couldn't see her anywhere.

"God please." 

He could hear the tears in her voice and hurried around the counter, she was lying under the low sink that was used to wash glasses, her focus was a wrench that she was using to try to loosen a pipe. "Elizabeth?"

Her eyes whipped over to him and he could see the tears in them. "Jason I can't get it."

He crouched beside her. "Get what?"

"My ring it's…" she yanked on the wrench again. "It's in here and I can't get it. Lucky gave me that ring." She set to work on the pipe again but it wouldn't budge.

"Let me." His hands brushed hers from the wrench and she moved out of his way.

"It just slipped off. I was washing the cups and it was gone. It has to be there Jason, it has to be. I don't take it off, Lucky gave it to me, I can't lose it."

He could hear the edge of hysteria in her voice and looked up at her. "I promise I'll find it."

She took a deep breath. "Okay."

He applied more torque to the wrench and the pipe gave, he eased the pipe down and only a small stream of water dripped from it. She had remembered to turn the water off at least. He examined the trap and saw a small glimmer of gold, he stuck his finger in the end and drew it out slowly. "Got it."

"Give it to me," she reached out and took it from his hand. She rubbed at it with a towel, then put it back on her finger. Once it was on her finger she collapsed on the floor in relief. "Thank you."

"No problem." He tightened the pipe back in place and gave her a minute to get control, while he got to his feet.

"Well," she took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. "You deserve a reward. Whatever you want it's on me. In fact I'll go one better, it's on me, and I won't cook it."

Jason laughed and dried his hands on a towel. "You better turn on the water."

"Okay." She disappeared into the kitchen but kept talking. "I realize I probably sounded a little frantic but the ring means so much to me." She entered the room again. "I know it doesn't look fancy but it is special."

"Elizabeth." He cut her explanations off. "It's from Lucky, I know what that means to you."

"You know for the past 45 minutes, since I knew it was missing, it was the first time that I'd ever been without it since he gave it to me." She frowned down at her hand. "I can't imagine ever not wearing it."

"Who says you can't wear it?"

"No one really. It just sometimes people look to see if I'm still wearing it. Like it's a test, once I stop wearing it, it means I'm done mourning."

"That doesn't seem right." Jason shifted on the stool.

"I know. I'm no where near ready to let go of Lucky. I wouldn't even know how too. But Lee one of the other waitresses, was trying to fix me up with a friend of hers earlier today. She said I should leave the trinkets at home though." She twisted the towel in her hands.

He could see the pain the remark had cause her. "I don't get the big reliance on material things, but I don't think the ring is a trinket." He shrugged and went on. "Isn't it more like a symbol of the love you shared with Lucky?"

"Yeah to me it is. But it made me wonder. People think I should start dating again, if I were to do that, how likely is it that the guy will understand why this jewelry means so much to me?" She looked down at the ring on her finger. "Older people dismiss it as a promise made by two kids, like it doesn't mean that much. But Lucky's my only love so it does."

"Robin has this ring, it's an old fashioned kind, it has a picture on it, I don't know what they're called."

"A cameo ring?"

"Yes. Anyway Robin always wore that ring, it was from Stone her first love, who had died. It never bothered me to see it on her finger. Because she loved Stone, she was able to eventually love me too. So I had no problem with her remembering that love with symbols, or in her heart. That's just who she was." He was a little surprised to realize how easy it was for him to discuss Robin now. Her memory didn't hurt him the way it once had.

"That might be who you are too." She leaned on the counter and tentatively touched his hand. "Thanks."

"I just loosened a pipe." He tried to dismiss her gratitude.

"No you did a lot more than that. Thanks to you I can wear my ring and my kidnapping bracelet…"

"What?" He interrupted her. "Your kidnapping bracelet?"

"That's what Lucky called it." She said with a soft smile holding up her left hand to show the bracelet. He recognized it as one she always wore.

"Lucky gave it to me on my birthday, the clasp broke, and I lost it on the docks. I of course wigged out, when I saw it was missing and he went to look for it. This was when he wasn't speaking to his parents," her smile faded. "Luke 'kidnapped' him to try to work things out. Anyway, once he came back he gave me my bracelet and called it the kidnapping bracelet."

"That sounds like Lucky." He thought that was a good memory to have.

"Yeah." She scrubbed at the counter and changed the subject. "So what are you doing for Thanksgiving?"

"I haven't really thought about it." To him it was just another day, he still didn't see the point in all of these holidays. "Maybe I'll see Sonny," he frowned at that thought. Sonny was still stringing Hannah along trying to trick her, and he knew Mike would be there, it wouldn't be a good scene.

"Well you could always have pizza with the Q's."

He frowned at her.

"Don't look at me like that. Emily said you tried to bring them a turkey once, she said it looked pretty good until the robbers knocked it from you." She teased him with a smile.

"That's why I will never understand that family." He leaned over the counter and shook his head. "One of them sends robbers, to clean the place out on Thanksgiving, and the Quartermaines, argue over what their going to give them, their trying to get rid of stuff they hate."

Elizabeth laughed. "Well their unique."

"I guess." Jason got to his feet he wasn't hungry anymore.

"Jason tomorrow were opening at 4:00 to feed the homeless and people who don't have anywhere to go. Why don't you come by?"

"Won't you be at your grandmothers?"

"By 4:00 I'll be dying for a reprieve." She said with a groan. "So come by, and I'll give you a traditional desert. Brownies."

He looked at her in surprise. "I thought pumpkin pie was the traditional desert."

"Not when I'm cooking. Trust me I'm doing you a favor. Brownies are the only thing I can make." She warned him.

"We'll see." He stepped back from the counter only to stop when she reached out and touched his arm.

"I really hope you do, but if not, Happy Thanksgiving Jason."

He looked down at her hand on his arm then back at her. "Happy Thanksgiving Elizabeth."

"Jason." Sonny touched his arm trying to get his attention.

Sounds seemed to crash into him all at once. He could hear the excited chattering of the people beside him, and the squawk from the police radios, he could even hear the sound of the water as it lapped the dock.

The sunlight sparkled off the bracelet that was on the arm of the left hand that was on the dock, and it caused his eyes to water. A diver picked up her arm to move it back out of sight, and he caught a glimpse of a ring on her hand.


	13. Bachelorette 1, 2, and 3

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Babble: Thanks for taking the time to reply it really does mean a lot.

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Her Greatest Mistake

Chapter 12

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~Warehouse~

"I'm sorry Sonny, but I checked everything. There is no financial trail of either Lucky Spencer or Elizabeth Webber since yesterday at 2:45 when Lucky bought some rope from Bergman's tools." Benny kept his voice low but his eyes kept drifting away from Sonny and to his left, towards the other man in the room.

"Have you come up with anything else?" Sonny asked.

"We found Spencer's car, it was parked in one of the back lots behind Wyndams. We checked and according to security it's been there all night." Benny focused on Sonny again. "Is he alright?"

Sonny turned to look at Jason, who appeared to be more a statue than a man at the moment. Since they had seen the body on the dock over an hour ago, Jason hadn't said a word. He had totally shut down. He didn't speak, answer questions or even look at who was speaking. It was strange seeing this in another person, even stranger because it was Jason who was doing it. Jason had always been the one that had pulled him out of these states, now that it was his turn he didn't know what to do.

"Sonny?" Benny prompted him.

"He'll be fine." Sonny vowed, even though a part of him was unsure that his friend would be. He turned slightly so his back was to Jason and lowered his voice to a whisper. "The body on the docks, as soon as they ID it, we need to know," he shook his head. "No I need to know, give the information to me only."

Benny nodded quickly, reading the threat in his boss's dark eyes. "I'll get right on it."

Sonny nodded in dismissal and waited for Johnny to close the door before moving towards Jason, who was immobile by the window. He stood beside him and stared out at the docks. He could still see people moving around on them, but it was too far for him to make out any of their features.

The crowd had lessened somewhat, but he could still see a swarm of people near where the police had pulled the body from the river. What struck him the most though was the sight of the red flashing light on the police boat. It reflected off the water and caused the eerie red glow to radiate everywhere.

"I've been where you are Jason. I've been there so many times it's almost like I live there." Sonny kept his eyes on the window. "You've found the quiet place in your mind, and you want to stay there. Because as long as you are there you don't have to deal with anything else, you don't have to talk, you don't have to feel, you just exist."

He shoved his hands in his pockets and kept talking. "The dark is a safe place, and for me it is always in my mind, just waiting to pull me back in. And every time I slide into that abyss, a part of me wonders if I will make it out again. A big part of me doesn't even want to try, but in the end I always do."

Sonny turned slightly to focus on Jason's unblinking face. "You're one of the reasons why I fight to come back. For years now, you have dragged me out of hell, you kept coming back, kept talking, until I had to come back, you wouldn't let me give up completely. Sometimes your voice was nothing more than white noise in my head, but it was steady and it was constant. You pulled me out of that blackness lots of times, and now it's my turn to do the same for you."

Sonny waited desperately for some sort of response but wasn't too surprised when none was forthcoming. "You're not alone Jason."

Jason stared out the window and said nothing as the police boat finally killed its light and swiftly sped away.

****

~P.C.P.D.~

Taggert rubbed wearily at his eyes before opening the next file.

"Why don't you take a few hours?" Garcia asked. "You've been on duty for close to 20 hours now, you have to be drained."

"No." Taggert never even looked up. He closed the file and then reached mechanically for the next one.

"What are you looking for anyway?"

"The girl we found at the boxcar, she looked familiar to me." Taggert explained briefly.

"How could you tell, she was pretty messed up?" Garcia hated any loss of life. But to see the tortured body of one so young really made him angry.

"The tattoo, I know I've seen it before." Finding the body in the boxcar hadn't surprised him, discovering it wasn't Elizabeth, and seeing the damage in the boxcar, had. If Garcia's theory needed any supporting evidence they had definitely found it. Lucky's hotspot was everything Garcia said it would be. The only difference was, instead of the brown-haired body of the girl being Elizabeth Webber, it was a stranger, and one he thought he knew.

"Lieutenant."

Taggert looked up into the pug-nosed face of the Police Commissioner. "Sir," he was too tired to even try to banish the distaste in his voice.

"I think your shift is over Lieutenant." Commissioner Backus stated the obvious. "You should go be with your family."

"My family?" Taggert leaned back in the hair and studied the officious idiot. "If you mean my sister, she's in the morgue, I really don't think I need to go there." He saw his boss squirm and continued on. "I have several open cases on my desk, and you might not be aware of it, but the first 12 – 24 hours in an investigation are the most critical."

"Yes well," Backus hesitated. He had never been an investigative cop. He'd ridden a desk for most of his career, perfecting the art of politics and ass kissing in an effort to move his career along. He realized that the only reason he was the Commissioner right now was because Mac Scorpio had resigned. He was also very aware that the Mayor and the City Commissioners asked Mac daily to return to the job.

Because of that he knew he needed to solve some high profile cases, and do it quickly and efficiently. The Spencer boy's killing spree, was just the ticket he needed to solidify his position. "We have rules for these situations. Procedures that need to be followed. You can not be primary on the murder of a family member."

"I'm not." Taggert interrupted the man, he was well prepared for this discussion. "Detective Garcia is primary on the murder of Gia Campbell and the attempted murder of Nikolas Cassadine. I am primary on the murder of Calvert Rogers and the attempted murder of Audrey Hardy, as well as the as yet unidentified girl that was discovered in an abandoned boxcar. I have no familial relations with any of these victims, therefore there is no justification for you to pull me off my cases."

Backus looked from Taggert to Garcia then back again, before he could reply the people exiting the interrogation room behind Taggert's desk caught his attention.

"Thanks again for getting here so soon Commissioner." Officer Andy Capelli held out his hand to Mac Scorpio before shifting to look at the two girls that followed them out of the room.

Georgie Jones' red and blotchy face, bore the grim reminders of the horrors she had seen today. Her hand was gripping her sister's tightly, the same way it had been ever since he had first talked to the girls on the docks. He could still see the sparkle of unshed tears in her eyes right now. He knew that she would never forget what had happened.

Maxie Jones was in direct contrast to her younger sister. She hadn't cried once, she answered the questions that she was asked in a mechanical voice, with no feeling at all. The only movement she seemed to make independently was in rubbing at a large stain on her once clean shirt. Her eyes were wide, and empty, and by focusing on a grape colored stain on her shirt, he knew that she was trying to avoid dealing with what she had seen.

"Thank you for your help, Georgie, Maxie."

Georgie nodded and tugged on her sister's hand to get her to move. She used to love to visit Mac at work, but now all she wanted to do was to be out in the hot sunshine again.

"I'll be right there girls." Mac told them, hanging back a step to talk to Capelli.

"Mac." Felicia Scorpio-Jones' voice announced her presence long before the slim blonde came into view. Her blue eyes swept the squad room, stopping when she saw her daughters and she rushed to them. Georgie let go of Maxie and charged her mother.

"Mommy it was so bad." Georgie whimpered.

"Shh baby, you're okay." Felicia rocked her, while she held out a hand to her other daughter. "Maxie?"

It was the sound of her mother's voice that finally pierced the fog she was in. "I'm sorry mom, I'm sorry we fought and I'm sorry I borrowed your shirt," Maxie cried suddenly tugging on her shirt. "I was trying to be so careful, I got through lunch and we even had spaghetti." She began to rub at the stain the snow cone left on the shirt. "But I got something on it after all."

"Maxie, it's okay." Felicia reached out for her daughter, but she backed away.

"Maybe Grandmother can get it out, she always knows how to do things like that." Maxie's voice began to rise. "Or I'll buy you another one. Yes that's what I'll do I'll by you another one, because I shouldn't have taken it from you. I won't do it again, I won't borrow your clothes anymore."

"Maxie it's okay." Felicia reached out and held on when Maxie tried to pull away again. "I don't care about the shirt. I care about you and Georgie."

"I'm sorry we fought this morning," Maxie whispered tears finally sliding from her eyes. "You're right mom, I'm not old enough to get a tattoo, I'm still a kid. Mom I want to be a kid, I don't want to be an adult."

Felicia felt the tears sting her eyes when she realized that adulthood had already claimed her oldest daughter. Her eyes met Mac's and he inclined his head to the door.

"Officer Stallings is going to drive you home." Mac moved over to join the family he still loved. "I'll come over as soon as I get things squared away here."

Felicia nodded and turned towards the door, keeping an arm around each of her daughters.

Mac waited until they disappeared, before heading to Taggert's desk. "Marcus."

Taggert nodded.

"Mac," Backus extended his hand. "I didn't know you were here. I'm sorry about your stepdaughters it was a shame that they had to see that. Oh I guess I should say ex-stepdaughters shouldn't I?" He smiled slightly then continued on. "We will make every effort to solve this case as soon as possible."

"Oh I know we will. And you should get used to seeing me here again, Backus." Mac patted him on the shoulder. "I think you need to check your voicemail."

Backus paled. "What do you mean?"

"I didn't want to be the one to tell you this, but I'm the Commissioner again." Mac took his arm to lead him away from the desk. "Don't worry I think the Mayor has some information for you about a new job."

Backus walked away slowly, this wasn't going like he had planned.

"Oh man, I am so glad your back Mac." Garcia held out his hand. "Maybe we'll actually get some work done now."

"I wouldn't be that optimistic Garcia." Mac focused on Taggert. "Can you handle this Marcus?"

"Yes." Taggert kept his eyes level on Mac and his answer brief. Mac's eyes were shrewder then Backus, he needed to stay in control.

Mac tried to read Taggert, but his eyes were hooded at the moment. "You remember what happened to me during the Stefan Cassadine murder, and how personal I let it get, because of Felicia and Luke."

"You were following the evidence." Taggert reminded him. "Granted it was fake evidence, but you were following it. That is all we're doing, only this time the evidence is real, incontrovertible, accurate, and it leads to only one person."

Mac debated with himself for another minute before going with his gut. "For now your still on the case, but there are conditions. You don't do anything alone, Garcia is with you every step of the way." He saw Garcia nodding and continued on. "The minute I think you can't handle something, I'll pull you. We need to do everything by the book. So if you can't handle that I need you to tell me now."

"I'll be fine." Taggert said coolly.

"Alright." Mac nodded and turned away. "Then bring me Spencer, alive."

Taggert immediately turned back to his files without acknowledging the last part of Mac's statement.

"Thank Christ Backus is out." Garcia settled in his chair.

Taggert nodded and opened another folder. "Bingo."

"You found something?" Garcia pushed on the floor and sent his chair rolling over to the desk.

"You remember that missing person's case that came in about 3 weeks ago?"

"Yeah." Garcia searched his memory for the details. "A 17 year old, Jane Morrison."

"Jane Morrissey," Taggert corrected, reading a sheet in the folder. "You were right she was 17, she also had a rather descriptive tattoo on her right shoulder. A tattoo of a unicorn. Sound familiar?"

Garcia leaned forward. "The girl in the boxcar had that tattoo."

"That's not all, I remember when her photo and description were first circulated, I thought she sounded familiar," he opened the folder. "Jane Morrissey 5'3" and ¾ inches tall, 130 lbs, with brown curly hair and green eyes."

"I remember." Garcia nodded.

Taggert held up the photo, of the smiling Morrissey girl. "Does she look like someone we know?" He held up a photo of Elizabeth Webber.

Garcia whistled. "They could be sisters." Seeing the photo's side by side, the resemblance was so apparent he wondered why he hadn't seen it before now.

"And one of our 'sisters' is more than likely in the morgue and the other one is missing." Taggert put down the photos and laced his fingers behind his neck. "We're missing something here."

"Like what?"

Taggert moved over to a chalkboard and studied the diagram he had written on there a while ago. Lucky Spencer's name was in the center and there were several names written around it in a circle, he erased the name Jane Doe, and wrote in the name Jane Morrissey. "Someone, more than likely Spencer killed her, the coroner's early estimate on the time of death is almost 24 hours ago, so she is our first victim." He circled her name and wrote number 1 on it.

He moved on to focus on the name Kelly's and wrote a 2 beside it. "Neither one of their rooms show any overt signs of violence, but with what we found in her room, there has been some violence done there in the past."

"Next we have the studio, that belongs to Elizabeth Webber." He wrote the number 3 beside it. "The studio was destroyed, something violent obviously happened there, and Elizabeth Webber is missing."

"Don't forget the cat." Garcia reminded him while he studied the board.

"I don't think I can." Taggert muttered, before focusing on the next word on the board. "We know that sometime after 2:00 Calvert Rogers was attacked here on the docks, and later died from those injuries. Next we have the Hardy house, where Audrey Hardy was shot around 4:30 in the morning."

The arrows and circles were going around the name Lucky Spencer in a clockwise motion, and there wasn't a lot of space left to write on.

Taggert hesitated then went on writing the #6 beside the word cottage. "Next we have the cottage, here there was a murder and an attempted murder, which happened around 8:00 this morning."

"That's all we have so far." Garcia admitted.

"Right so what's missing?" Taggert stepped back and studied the board. "Tammy confirms that Elizabeth got off at 12:30 and left Kelly's then, she was due back at 7:00 and never arrived, she also said the last time she saw Lucky was yesterday around 2:00. Given the coroner's estimate, Lucky must have gone straight to the boxcar after leaving the diner. The Morrissey girl died between the hours of 2:00 and 4:00."

Garcia consulted his notes. "Spencer made a stop first though, we have a credit card receipt from Bergman's at 2:45, remember he bought some rope."

Taggert nodded. "Elizabeth was last placed at a coffee shop on Harbor Drive around 4:45 yesterday."

"Where are you going with this?"

"I'm trying to get a rough time line. Spencer went from Kelly's, to the hardware store, to the boxcar, then more than likely the studio. Initial reports say the blood there is about 18 hours old." Taggert twirled the chalk in his hand. "With where the studio is located it makes sense for his next stop to be the docks, where he found and murdered Rogers." His words began to come out faster, an idea was slowly forming.

"The next place he shows up is Audrey Hardy's, next the cottage, when Gia and Nikolas return from the hospital, he's waiting. All of these places show evidence of his attacks, each one getting more violent, but what else do they have in common?"

"I don't know," Garcia shrugged. "Maybe Elizabeth?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "It looks like Lucky might have been searching for Elizabeth." He moved to the desk and pulled out a notebook. "Nikolas admitted that Lucky alternated between wanting to know where Elizabeth was, and saying that he hurt her. If she were running wouldn't it make sense for her to go to the studio, her grandmothers, or even her friend's house? Those would be places she felt safe, with people she would feel safe with."

"Yes, but there's someplace else she would go." 

"Yeah were missing someone." Taggert smiled slightly. "When the mess with Tom Baker happened, there were 4 involved. When the rave happened there were 4 involved. So where is the 4th one now?"

"Emily Quartermaine should be on the board somewhere." Garcia studied the board with new eyes. "Whenever there has been any sort of trouble with the others, she's been involved so why isn't she here? There's been no reports of anything unusual at the Quartermaine's and there are enough staff there, that we would have heard something."

"Morgan." Taggert whispered.

"What?" Garcia asked.

"Who showed up in town before dawn this morning? Why did Corinthos meet him, instead of just going to the penthouse himself? Why is Morgan here at all? Since Sorel's been in prison, Corinthos has solidified his power. There's no threat to him now, there's no reason for him to bring Morgan back." For once the anger that he normally felt when he thought about Corinthos or Morgan was gone. In its place was cold logic. "There's no reason unless Morgan didn't come back for a professional reason, and instead he came for a personal one."

"Elizabeth Webber and him are friends. She even had a bomb in her studio because of him. It would make sense for her to contact him." Garcia admitted, then shook his head. "But how would he know? It's a good theory, but how would he know to come back now? Especially if she's running."

"Lieutenant can I speak with you?"

At the soft-spoken request, Taggert turned around and stared into the battered face of Emily Quartermaine.

****

~GH 4th Floor~

"Excuse me." Laura Spencer pushed her way off the elevator and looked around for any sign of her soon to be ex-sister-in-law. But there was no sign of the redhead. With a huff of breath she headed for the nurse's station. "Can you page Bobbie Spencer for me?"

Gabriella nodded. "If you'd like to wait in the lounge, I'll direct her there."

Laura moved towards the small waiting room on the side of the room and took a seat. It had been a hectic few hours. Ever since she had gotten Bobbie's phone call she had been racing. She wasn't used to racing anymore, the last time she had done it, was when her and Luke had been searching for Lucky over a year ago.

At the thought of her son, she closed her eyes. Bobbie had to be mistaken. Her little boy would never hurt anyone, much less shoot Audrey in the back. He just wasn't capable of that kind of violence, it all had to be a terrible mistake. She debated on trying to reach Luke again, but decided to wait until she had more concrete news. Hopefully she could get this whole mess straightened out without having to track Luke down.

"So you have finally decided to return to town." Stefan's voice was cold, as was his expression. "A little late, but that is normal for you is it not?"

Laura opened her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

Stefan tilted his head and studied the woman he had once been obsessed with. The woman that no other in his life had ever been able to measure up too, and for once his blinders were removed. What he had always considered a warm and caring face, now struck him as cold. The eyes that were so expressive, and so capable of tearing up at a second's notice, now seemed calculating to him. "This is the time you play devoted mother is it not? You always like to show up, when someone is hurt, you just can never be bothered on a day to day basis."

"Stefan I really have no desire to speak to you about my son. I have no doubt that you believe what you've heard about him, but I can assure you that this is all some misunderstanding and I will clear it up."

"A misunderstanding?" Stefan repeated. Laura's failure to grasp the obvious was never so apparent to him. "It was more than a misunderstanding."

"No it's not." Laura snapped. "Lucky would never do what he is accused of. He would never shoot anyone, especially not Elizabeth's grandmother."

She didn't know, the realization hit him. She didn't know about Nikolas at all. She wasn't sitting here, being concerned about Nikolas, she was here to defend her other son. She had returned from where she had been, because of Lucky. Whatever feelings he still harbored for her vanished in that instant.

"I would never call murder a misunderstanding," Stefan corrected her stiffly. "Or attempted murder for that matter."

"Lucky didn't murder anyone." Laura shot to her feet, like any mama bear would, anxious to defend her cub. "I know my son. He wouldn't hurt anyone, and anyone who says he did, is either lying or is confused. I know that you would love to believe that he is capable of this. That way you could blame his failures on Luke's genes, but you can't because that would be a lie. Luke and I raised our son better than that, he would never hurt anyone. This is all a mistake or an outright lie, no doubt orchestrated by the Cassadines."

Stefan studied her, her temper was fiery as usual. Her eyes were dry however, more than likely because no one was around to see the show. To him she had never looked more like Helena then at this moment. "So you are calling Nikolas a liar?"

Bobbie paused a few feet away when she heard Stefan's question.

"Nikolas?" Laura looked confused.

"Oh that's right, you don't know about Nikolas. He's only your son, but he isn't a Spencer, and you must have your priorities."

"What about my son?"

"Which one are you worried about Laura? The one who is in the hospital? Or the one who put him there, after killing the woman your forgotten son loves right in front of his eyes?" Stefan crossed his arms and waited for her reaction.

Horrified the only thing Laura could do was shake her head.

"What? Do you think Nikolas is lying when he says that Lucky shot Gia in cold blood?" Stefan inched closer. "Or maybe he's lying when he says Lucky attacked him and tried to beat his head in with a gun."

Laura backed away from Stefan and the horrible words she was hearing but Stefan followed her.

"Maybe Audrey Hardy was lying when she told the police that Lucky admitted to beating Elizabeth, and she must have been lying, when she told them, that Lucky shot her in the back." He gripped her by the arms, holding her up, when she began to slump. "Maybe the police are lying too, when they announced to the world that Lucky beat another man's head in last night, and killing him."

"No," Laura moaned.

"That's right Laura, deny it, all of this must be a lie, because your precious son would never do anything like that." Stefan let her go abruptly and she sunk in the chair. "And because you are so unwilling to see the truth about your beloved son, two people are dead, one is missing, another might be paralyzed, and Nikolas." His voice got even colder. "The son you could never be bothered with, the one you had no problem walking away from, and disappointing again and again, is lying destroyed in a hospital bed, because his love died in his arms, after being murdered by his brother."

Stefan stepped away from her before he did something he would regret. "Your beloved son has tried to destroy Nikolas, and I won't let him be hurt again. You are not to go near Nikolas, the last thing he needs is more of your guilt filled love, if that is what you call it." He lowered his voice. "You have no power or influence with me anymore, if you or anyone else in your family goes near him again, I will destroy them."

He turned and paused when he saw Bobbie standing there staring at them, he saw no anger in her eyes, so he simply nodded at her, and hurried to check on Nikolas.

Bobbie sighed and moved wearily to the couch and a now sobbing Laura.

****

~Warehouse~

Sonny had been talking so much that his throat actually burned, but he kept going. He knew that some part of him was getting through to Jason, so he had to keep holding out that lifeline. He only stopped when his cell rang and moved away from Jason to answer it.

__

"Sonny it's me."

"Carly is there something wrong with Emily?" Sonny was worried as soon as he heard her voice.

__

"She's gone."

"What? How?"

__

"I was with Michael and when I went to check on them, she was gone, so was Zander. Pete says they never went by him, so they must have went out the side door."

"Damn." Sonny groaned.

__

"She left a note." Carly read it quickly. "Sonny she went to the police station. She said she's going to turn herself in."

****

~Morgue~

"Man I hate holidays." Dr. Alvin Linkletter grumbled to his assistant. "4 bodies in less then 24 hours, is not how I wanted to spend my 4th of July."

"Well then next time, you probably shouldn't hit on the boss's wife." Michele Peters taunted him. "If you controlled your hormones, you probably wouldn't get assigned holidays."

"I told you I was drunk." The Doctor replied shortly, trying to offer a defense, after all, his boss's wife could be a model for all of those before photos' the diets always showed.

"Sure." Michele rolled her eyes and picked up her clipboard.

"So what do we have?" He asked while pulling on his latex gloves.

"3 women, all late teens, early 20's, all murdered." She consulted her notes and pointed to the far table, and the sheet covered body there. "Bachelorette #1 has been identified as a 22 year old model by the name of Gia Campbell. Cause of death is a gunshot wound that nicked the heart."

Dr. Linkletter pulled down the sheet and took a cursory look at her face before looking at the wound. "My daughter went to the salon trying to get her hair to look like hers. It wasn't a good look for her."

Michele couldn't help but agree, she'd met his daughter, the braids would have looked ghastly on her, but wisely she held her tongue. "Bachelorette #2, was just tentatively identified as a missing 17 year old by the name of Jane Morrissey. I printed her and sent them off to forensics for comparison. As for the cause of death, torture comes to mind."

"I'm guessing it was because her kidneys were rather crudely removed." He took another look at the jagged incision on the girl's chest, and then pulled the bloody sheet back over her face.

"Probably, basically she bled to death, again that is only preliminary." Michele finished quickly before the doctor could go into lecture #3, which was don't put the cart before the horse. That was his annoying way of saying not to assume, of course it took him 10 minutes to say that.

"Bachelorette #3 is our mystery guest." She moved closer to the table and the body of a girl, still hidden in the red throw. "We know she's a female, but were waiting to unveil her, until forensics were done, and you were here."

"Okay." Dr. Linkletter looked at the girls on the tables, and rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "I love a mystery, lets begin with her."

Michele nodded and picked up her camera to record the body, as it came into view.

****

~GH~

"Laura will you stop please? Crying won't do anything, except give me a headache." Bobbie rubbed at her throbbing temples.

"Don't snap at me Bobbie," Laura hissed, wiping the mascara from under her eyes, and sitting up straight. "I can't believe Stefan, did you hear what he was saying?"

"I'm afraid what he said is true Laura." Bobbie admitted. "It's all over the news and I heard eyewitness accounts both from Audrey and from Nikolas. It is Lucky who did this." Numbness had set in so deep that discussing the fact that her nephew was a murderer didn't even faze her at the moment.

"I can't believe that, I won't." Laura was desperate to find a way to save her son. "He wouldn't do this."

"Laura I know what you want to believe. I once thought Tony was incapable of kidnapping a baby, and refusing medicine for an HIV patient, but he did it."

"That was different, he was only your husband, this is my child were talking about."

"Yes your child. The child who has never been the same since he was kidnapped. Your son who had been sliding more and more out of control for months now. While you have been to damn busy to notice. Hell while I've been to busy to notice." Bobbie snapped.

"Why are you yelling at me?"

"Because I'm angry. You saw him every day, how could you not see how bad he was getting? Was it because you didn't want to see it?"

Stung Laura fired back. "He lives at Kelly's why didn't you see it?"

Bobbie sighed in defeat. "I think a part of me did, but I didn't follow up on it. I was like you, remembering the boy that was, instead of the man that returned. Elizabeth's hollow eyes and nerves, are readily apparent in hindsight, all the signs were there, and I didn't want to see them, anymore then you did."

"What signs?" Laura asked nervously.

"Elizabeth getting sick all the time, they way she wouldn't look anyone in the eye, how she jumped it you touched her, and barely even spoke at all when Lucky was around. All those classic signs of abuse that I've counseled women on for years. All the signs I ignored because I knew my nephew Lucky would never do that." Bobbie had a bitter taste in her mouth one she knew wouldn't be gone anytime soon.

"Are you saying Lucky hit her? He would never hurt Elizabeth like that." That was one thing she was sure of. "He has been devoted to her ever since the rape."

"Wrong Laura, Lucky before the fire was devoted to her, the Lucky after the fire was angry and controlling." Bobbie got to her feet. "It hurts me to say this, and even more to believe that he is capable of this. But I have too, I can't pretend everything is okay when it's not. Lucky has been in trouble ever since he came back, and I'm not going to bury my head in the sand anymore, and neither should you."

"Are you saying that's what I'm doing?" Laura demanded.

"Laura it took over 20 years and the rape of Elizabeth before you even admitted that what Luke did to you was rape. You are the Queen of Denial. Look around you," she gestured around the lobby. "There are people in this place right now because of that denial. Including Nikolas, whom you have yet to ask about."

"Mommy," Lucas tore away from Roy and made a beeline for his mother, the instant the elevator doors opened.

Bobbie caught him and held on in concern when she felt his small body shaking with sobs. "What's wrong honey?"

"I s-ssaw a b-b-b-…" he broke off and began to cry again.

"Roy?" Bobbie looked at him with questions in her eyes, and an accusing look on her face.

"We found a body of a girl in the river, it shook the kids pretty bad."

"Oh baby." Bobbie rocked her son. "Let it out, your safe now."

Laura studied the picture they made. Mother comforting her son, how many times had she held Lucky like that? Her little boy rarely cried but when he did, when he was frightened he had sought her out. His innocent belief that there was nothing his parents couldn't make better, sustained him through the first years of his life. How long had it been since he had let her comfort him?

It had been years, she frowned as the memory of a meeting in the park came to her. Not long after returning to town, and after he had found out what had happened between her and Luke so many years before. Fear had been driving Lucky that day. Fear that one day he would hurt a woman the way his father had. Everyone had said he was just like Luke, and he was terrified that he would be. He had let her reassure and comfort him, and she had tried to convince him that he would never hurt any woman like that. That what had happened between her and Luke had occurred more because of the situation, not because of a flaw in Luke.

__

"He beat Elizabeth."

Laura covered her mouth when Stefan's words returned.

__

"How do I know that I don't have a monster locked inside of me mom? One that is just waiting to break free?"

Lucky's words from that long ago day came back to her, and terrified her.

****

~P.C.P.D.~

"So after I told them what happened I was exhausted and I hurt so much that I took a pain pill and went to sleep." Emily took a sip of water to soothe her raw throat. 

Garcia looked up from his notes. "Do you know how long ago that was?"

"No." Emily shook her head, and immediately wished she hadn't. "I slept for hours, then when I woke up, we watched the news, and I realized I had to come here."

"You can understand her disorientation." Alexis interjected. "She was very confused, upset, terrified, even hurt, on more than one level. Her oldest friend had suddenly and very violently turned on her, and she needed time to process that. Given the fact the suffered a fairly serious beating in her own right, it's perfectly understandable that she needed some time to let that sink in."

"I never said she didn't counselor. I'm just trying to get the facts so I can narrow down the time frame, and isolate Lucky's movements." Garcia replied easily.

The whole time Emily had been speaking Taggert had kept his eyes on her face. Her bruised face was a stark contrast to the smooth features of his sister. But while Gia was beautiful in death, he would much rather see her bruised and alive. The horror in Emily's eyes as she recounted her tale of abuse at Lucky's hands made him wonder about his own sister's last moments. Was she scared? Was she in pain? Did she know what had happened to her? Was she alone? Did she call for him?

"It was probably close to 7:45 or 7:50 before I got to the studio," Emily paused and tried to remember more. "Elizabeth was supposed to be at work at 7:00 and she didn't show. I remember looking at the clock right before I splattered grease on myself and it was 7:30."

"So roughly 20 minutes later you were at the studio," Garcia began to guide her back over her story again, this time hoping to fill in a few blanks. "And you saw Lucky attacking her."

****

~Morgue~

"Alright let's cut this rug off of her." Dr. Linkletter said when they'd photographed it from every angle and pulled samples from it. He frowned at the rope that was wrapped around the rug. Although it was damp there was very little fraying. "The rope looks new." He commented for the record before making a swift downward cut, severing it.

Michele set the camera down and slowly they began to unfurl the carpet, exposing the girl within.

~*~

"Yes he had his hands around her throat and was choking her." Emily took Zander's hand, seeking his warmth and strength. "I stood there, frozen, for a long minute staring. When finally I could move, I ran over to him and tried to get him to let her go."

"Was she still moving at this point?"

"Yes she was struggling. She had blood on her face and her hands, but she was scratching at Lucky trying to get him to let her go."

~*~

"There's tissue under her nails, she definitely struggled." Dr. Linkletter set her hand back down and stared at the girl who was lying face down on the table, while Michele finished photographing her. "There's bruising around her wrists, she was probably restrained at some point."

"Finished." She set the camera down. "Do you want to turn her over or swab her first?"

"Let's roll her, and finish the cursory exam, then go back later for the details." He shifted so he was at her head, while Michele went down to the girls boot clad feet. "On my count we'll roll to the right, one, two, thr…"

~*~

Garcia could see the glazed look in Emily's eyes and could feel the warning glare of Alexis as well, and decided to back off for a bit. "Do you remember what she was wearing?"

"Brown pants, hiking boots, she had on a green short sleeve t-shirt, that was how I saw the bruises on her arms. Then she put a long-sleeved sweater on over it."

"Good Emily, you're doing fine." Garcia kept his tone friendly.

Alexis couldn't help but admire his deft touch when it came to guiding Emily through her statement. She could see how he'd earned the reputation as the best victim interviewer in the department. He was sympathetic, and at the same time forceful. This enabled him to get the information he needed from the victim, without them feeling pressured.

"How about jewelry? Was she wearing any?"

"She always wore a simple gold ring on the ring finger of her left hand, and a bracelet that was made of cubic zirconium on her left wrist. They were gifts from Lucky," she faltered. "She never took them off."

~*~

"Now this is a mess." The doctor frowned at what was left of the face of the girl.

Michele moved closer and took another close-up of the face. "Looks like the boat's propeller, caught her across the face."

"Yes, most of her teeth and her features are gone. We'll have to ID her from her prints, or her DNA if we get a lead on her. Hopefully we'll get lucky."

"You want me to cut away the clothes when I'm done?"

"Yes."

"Okay." Michele began by unfastening the bracelet from the girl's wrist.

~*~

"Okay you said Lucky was choking her and you tried to stop him." Garcia began again. "Do you remember what happened next?"

She knew she would never forget it. "Elizabeth went limp at the same time I hit Lucky with the stool. Her eyes were open and she wasn't breathing. I began giving her mouth to mouth." She could still see the ugly red handprints that had left welts on Elizabeth's pale throat.

~*~

"Possible cause of death is strangulation." He examined the throat. "It looks like a crushed larynx."

"Do you think she was dead before she went in the water?" Michele asked as she put the blood stained green t-shirt in an evidence bag and set it in a basket with the rest of the clothes, that were heading to forensics.

"I don't know, and won't until I cut her open and see if she has water in her lungs or not." He frowned at the petite woman on the table, inventorying the welts, and bruises that lined her skin. With the lividity of the body, the bruises really stood out on her fair skin. "Regardless she put up one hell of a fight, even though a lot of these bruises are days old. She has defensive wounds everywhere, she didn't go quietly."

"Too bad she didn't go the first time he hit her." Michele shook her head, she was tired of seeing what happened when women stayed with men who hit them. She fed the print card into the scanner and hoped she would get a match, so this Jane Doe didn't have to go to Potter's field, like so many other women had.

~*~

"Thank you for coming in Emily." Garcia leaned over the desk. "I know this was very hard for you, but I want you to know that you did very good. I know you've been examined, but I still think you should get checked out at the hospital."

Emily blinked in surprise and shifted her focus to Taggert who hadn't said a word. "You mean I'm not in trouble?"

"Of course your not Emily." Alexis looked at Taggert in warning. "They know you were in shock and as soon as you were able you reported what you witnessed."

Garcia nodded in agreement, there would be no purpose in tormenting Emily further with reprimands over not coming to the police sooner, he could see she already felt miserable as it was. "She's right Emily."

Emily got slowly to her feet, and swayed slightly. Zander immediately slipped an arm around her waist and tried to move her to the door, but she resisted. "Lieutenant."

"Yes Emily." Taggert asked roughly.

"I'm sorry about Gia. I didn't know what he was going to do. If I had known, if I had any idea that he would go after Nikolas or Gia," she trailed off and swallowed hard. "I'm sorry I didn't come sooner."

Taggert got to his feet and moved away, the last thing he wanted to hear was condolences about Gia, that would make her death all to real for him.

"Come on Emily." Zander glared at him but kept his voice soft, trying to lead her away.

Tears slipped unheeded from her eyes, but she refused to budge, instead she addressed Taggert's stiff back. "Can you understand that what I saw scared and shocked me so much, that I needed to find the one person who always made me feel safe no matter what?"

"So you waited until you could tell Morgan and others paid for it." He couldn't keep the bitter accusation inside any longer.

Emily felt her stomach turn at the words and touched Zander's arm before he could speak. "I don't expect you to understand this. I know you hate my brother. That you think he's nothing but a worthless criminal, who should be locked away for the rest of his life. But he's so much more than that, especially to me. He's been my protector ever since he let himself get to know me. I needed to find him, because I needed to make him understand that I didn't mean to let him down again," her voice broke and she struggled to go on. "And even though he was hurting, I needed him to make it okay for me, because that is what he's always done. When I'm scared, my brother makes it okay."

Her words triggered a memory that sent him straight into hell.

__

"Why didn't you tell mom?" Marcus demanded and fished in the trunk of the car for a first aid kit.

Gia scowled. "She wouldn't understand, she'd just get mad at me for fighting. She wouldn't even listen to why I was fighting."

Marcus picked up her hand and looked at the bruised knuckles. "Is there a reason?" He asked the defiant looking 14 year old.

"Yes there was. Macy Widdoes and her crew were at it again." She jerked at her hand when he applied the medicine. "Watch it that stings."

"You shouldn't be fighting then." Marcus told her.

"Like you can talk," Gia pointed to the still healing black eye on his face.

"This is different."

"Why because you're a guy?" Gia demanded.

"No because I don't cry when I get hurt." Marcus answered with words that were wiser then his years.

"Do you see me crying?"

"Not anymore." But he could see the tracks her tears had left on her face. "So what was the fight about?"

"Joel Fellers, a boy she liked asked me to go steady with him."

"Did you say yes?"

"Yes to fish-face Fellers? Please I have taste." Gia fired back insult in her eyes.

"So if you turned him down why did you fight?"

"Because she said the only reason he asked me out in the first place was because I would have been an easy score, considering I was nothing but a slut."

Marcus cursed liberally under his breath. "She is nothing but a lying cow. She has been jealous of you since she met you when she was 5. Jealous because she could have a 100 surgeries and never look as good as you do on your worst day."

Gia smiled widely at that. "You have to say that, you're my brother."

"Not true. Most brothers call their sister's frog-face or something like that. I can't say that because you're beautiful." He placed the band-aid on her knuckle. "All done."

Gia leaned against him. "Thanks."

"All I did was put on a band-aid." And tomorrow he would find fish-faced Fellers and give him a permanent pucker.

"It was more than that," she corrected him. "You made me feel better, as usual you made me feel safe."

"I won't let anyone hurt you Gia."

"I know, I guess that's why I find you when things happen. I know you'll make it all right for me. No matter what, you'll make it okay."

"Why do I feel like this is a setup?" He asked warily.

"It's not." Gia frowned at him. "I do rely on you." The frown changed into a sly smile. "Of course it doesn't hurt that you're so good at running interference with mom."

Taggert clenched his hands into fists and tried to banish the sound of her voice.

"I just needed to see my brother. If I could undo what I did, I would." Emily finished weakly, feeling drained. It was wrong for her to want him to forgive her, but she did. Blinded by her tears, she turned into Zander and moved towards the door.

"Emily it wasn't your fault." Taggert's words stilled her progress. "You did what you had to do to survive both mentally and physically, I don't blame you."

Emily turned back and smiled weakly in relief. "Thank you."

Alexis waited by the desk while Zander helped Emily from the squad room. "You said the right thing Taggert."

Taggert ignored her words. "How's Nikolas?"

"He's in shock, he doesn't want to believe she's gone." Alexis informed him. "He'd give anything to trade places with her."

"I know that feeling." Taggert turned away again.

Garcia trailed Alexis to the doorway. "Counselor your clients have a head start in this matter."

"Detective are you going to use this to further the PCPD's vendetta? Because if you are let me warn you…"

"Let me finish," Garcia interrupted her. "They have a head start, but we're in the game now, and this game is personal," he glanced over a Taggert, "very personal. If your clients get in the way, we'll take them down too. You might want to pass that on to them."

****

~Morgue~

"We got a match on those prints from our Jane Doe," Michele crowed in triumph.

Dr. Linkletter placed the girl's heart in a scale to weigh it. "That's good news. I also have some news, she was definitely alive when she went into the river. The water in her lungs proves that she drowned."

"That's a rough way to go."

"Yes it is." He glanced over at her. "So will the mystery guest please sign in?"

Michele looked down at the readout. "Her name is…"

****

~Yacht~

It was pitch black, but the darkness wasn't frightening, in fact it was soothing in a sense. It helped to keep the pain at bay. Pain had become a constant factor in life, each day harder to get through then the last. But in some ways the pain was a friend as well, it was a constant presence in life when little else was.

The gentle rocking of the yacht was soothing as well. The swaying brought back memories of a more restful time, because peace was the prevailing emotion at the moment.

Peace and pain, pain and peace. They shouldn't go together but they did, especially here in this dark, cramped room.

Noise sounded on the other side of the door, and tension joined the peace and pain. It was almost time to start again. The brief respite was almost over. The noises came closer and a new emotion entered. This one was fear and it wiped out all the other emotions with the force of its power.

****

~Penthouse 4~

"Jason get mad at me, scream, yell, throw things, just don't stand there like a statue." Carly ordered.

"Carly." Sonny called from the other side of the room.

Carly frowned at Jason again the joined her husband. "Sonny this isn't right, he doesn't act like this. You act like this." She accused him.

"I know." Sonny poured himself a straight shot of scotch. "I will never forget the look on his face when they pulled that body from the river."

"Do you think its Elizabeth?"

"Jason does, that's what made him freeze."

~*~

Jason stared out into the sloping sun, he could hear the low murmur of his friend's voices, but made no attempt to make sense of their words. He didn't think he could make sense of anything ever again. He had been holding out hope that Elizabeth was still alive, because he had needed her to be. So he ignored Emily's accounting, ignored what Francis had told him, he ignored it all because he wanted her to be alive.

A part of him even believed he could feel her. He'd never felt that kind of connection before now, but he believed it today, because the alternative was something he didn't want to face. The alternative was that Elizabeth was dead. And one of the reasons she was, was because she couldn't reach him when she needed to.

He'd never lost anyone close to him before. Lily was the first person he'd known who'd died. Even though he liked her, he wasn't devastated by her death. He'd lost men that he worked with as well, but again it really wasn't that personal.

__

"But I am in love with you."

Elizabeth was personal. She was so personal that the thought of breathing in a world that she was no longer in was too painful to think about. He didn't know how he was supposed to move on if she was dead. Would he slide back into his old pattern of only waking up because his eyes opened?

He ran a hand over his face. He'd been prepared to die, and to die young. He knew his life expectancy, given his career choice, was not very long. But he'd only let himself think about the possibility of her dying just once. That was when Sorel had planted the bomb in her studio. 

That thought had scared him enough that he tried to end their friendship. He would rather have her alive and hating him, then dead. But he couldn't stay away from her and in the end he had left town. His leaving had as much to do with her, as it did with Carly, Michael and Sonny.

But now, unless there was some mistake, and it was someone else wearing that bracelet and ring, she was dead. Hope he didn't know he was capable of, hope that refused to die, welled up in him again. He didn't know for sure that is was her, and until he did, he was going to believe she was still alive and waiting somewhere. He turned away from the window and focused on his friends. "Sonny…"

The shrill ring of the phone cut off his words and three pairs of eyes locked on the desk. Sonny set his scotch down and picked it up on the third ring. "Yeah?" he paused and kept his back to the others. "What did you find out Benny?"

Jason moved closer and Carly stepped beside him and took his hand. The tension and fear in the room had tripled in the space of seconds, while they waited to find out the news.

"Thanks Benny." Sonny's voice sounded normal and he hung up the phone before turning to face them.

Jason took one look at his face and the hope that he had finally mustered up again, vanished.

"I'm sorry Jason." Somehow he got the words past the lump in his throat. "It was Elizabeth in the river, her prints confirmed it."

"Christ no." Carly gasped.

The penthouse door opened and Alexis came in. "Sonny, Jason, thank god you're here." She turned around. "Zander, Johnny bring her in."

Sonny's frown turned into a look of concern when Emily came inside with Johnny supporting her on one side and Zander on the other. "What happened?"

"Move her to the couch gently." Alexis ordered. "Carly she said you have her pain medicine, can you get it?"

"Yes." Carly flew towards the stairs.

Sonny crouched by the couch. "What the hell happened?"

"She pushed too hard. She collapsed when we left the station." Zander explained worry evident in his dark eyes. "She wouldn't let us bring her to the hospital, she insisted on coming back here."

"I need to see Jason," Emily forced her eyes open. "I need to be here for him."

Jason. Sonny looked for him when she said his name. But he was gone, the open door to the penthouse was the only thing he saw.


	14. Notifications

****

Babble: My Halloween present to any of you still reading this fic of mine. Please let me know what you think. And if you want you can rub it in regarding your Halloween plans, since I'll be stuck at work.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

****

Her Greatest Mistake

Chapter 13

****

~Penthouse~

"Where the hell is Jason?" Sonny hissed the question between his teeth, trying not to alert Emily to Jason's disappearance.

Johnny's eyes widened when he belatedly realized that Jason was gone, he headed for the door to check it out.

"Is Jason here?" Emily asked softly from her position next to Zander on the couch.

Sonny sat on the ottoman in front of her, patted her hand, and lied through his teeth. "He's checking something out right now."

"About Elizabeth?" Emily forced her eyes open wide, hope filled them.

Sonny looked over at Carly who was clearing the stairs with Emily's medication in hand and she shook her head. "Yeah Emily, it's about Elizabeth," he answered finally.

Emily was either still too tired, or in so much pain to see the interplay of the other people in the room. "Don't bother him then, I'll talk to him later."

Carly moved to sit beside Emily and held out a glass of water. "I want you to take this pill Emily."

Emily made a face and began to shake her head.

"No arguing," Carly ordered. "You need to do this, Jason doesn't need to be worried about you as well," she played her ace in the hole.

Alexis could feel the undercurrent of tension in the room, and had picked up on the fact that Jason, who had been here when they had first entered the room, was now missing, so she tried to help as well. "Why don't you go upstairs and get some rest. You are very pale."

"Yeah Emily let's go upstairs. Your mom is on the way over here, and the first thing she will want is to see, is you lying in bed." Zander reminded her. 

"I am a little tired," Emily conceded, and she knew she would need energy to deal with her mother. She had finally called in after leaving the police station and Monica had been frantic. She had managed to convince her, with a lot of help from Alexis, to come alone and keep it quiet for now. But she had a feeling that once Monica saw her injuries, quiet would be the last thing she would be.

"Rest is the best thing Emily," Sonny prodded her.

"Thanks for coming to the police station Alexis. I know you had to leave Nikolas to help me so I really appreciate it," Emily showed no signs of moving.

"That's okay Emily," Alexis lightly patted the girl's hand.

"How is Nikolas? I wanted to see him…" she trailed off.

"You need to take care of yourself, just like Nikolas is taking care of himself," Carly jumped in quickly.

Emily nodded then blinked hard trying to force the cobwebs from her mind. "Are you mad that I went to the police?"

Sonny sighed, staring into her injured face it was hard to be mad at her for anything." It's not my place to be mad."

"But you are," she whispered softly. "It's just the guilt. It's so high, it makes it hard for me to breathe. If I had been thinking clearly last night when Lucky attacked me, I would have gone to the police then. If I had they could have caught him, they could have stopped him before he had the chance to hurt anyone else," her voice took on a self-loathing tone. "But I didn't do that. Instead I ran and hid, and Gia, Nikolas, and maybe even Elizabeth paid the price for what I did."

"That's not what you did Emily," Carly cried sharply. "Lucky is your oldest friend, and you never in your wildest dreams thought he would ever hurt you, or Elizabeth. So when he did hurt you, you didn't know how to handle it. You had to shut down, until you could. This is not your fault."

Emily shook her head, denying herself the out that Carly was trying to give her. A lot of things weren't clear in her mind right now. Most of her emotions were on overload, and it was hard to identify even one of them. But the one clear thing in her mind, and in her heart, was the guilt she was feeling. 

Guilt because she hadn't seen the pain Elizabeth was in until it was too late. Guilt because she hadn't told the police sooner, what had happened with Lucky, and Gia ended up paying the price. Guilt because she had let her brother down. Jason had only asked her for two things in his life. One was to be Michaels's godmother. The other was to stay close to Elizabeth and keep an eye on Lucky. She had let him down both times. She couldn't even remember the last time she had seen Michael. And as for Elizabeth and Lucky, last night showed how much she had failed him there. But even above that, the strongest guilt she felt was for not being able to see that Lucky was in so much trouble. 

Lucky had always been the confident, in control, devil may care, larger than friend to her. He always had a grin and a plan, and most of them seemed to work, or at least a little bit. He had helped her let go of the pain she felt after her mother had died, he had been her first and best friend in Port Charles, and she had let him down. He had never been the same since he had come back. Yet she had pretended that he was. She had needed him in her life, because of what he had meant to her so much so, that she hadn't let herself see, that he had changed from the boy she had loved so much into an unrecognizable stranger. And because of her unwillingness to see how out of control he had gotten, people were hurt, and some were even dead.

"Emily," Sonny touched her hand trying to get her attention. Her dark eyes and face were ravaged with what he knew was guilt. "Emily as soon as you told Jason who hurt you, I had people out there looking for Lucky."

"People like Cal?" she whispered.

Sonny hesitated then nodded his head.

"Don't you see it wasn't enough?" She asked wearily. "You looked for him, but you did it quietly. The police would have broadcasted the hunt. People would have been warned about Lucky. He wouldn't have been able to sneak up on them. People like Audrey, Nikolas," her voice broke and she swallowed a sob. "G-Gia they would have known. Taggert would have made sure of that. But I didn't go to the police, and you kept the search quiet, and more people were hurt."

Sonny couldn't speak. He couldn't ease her mind, because what she was saying was true. And you couldn't defend yourself from the truth.

****

~P.C.P.D.~

"You look like hell man," Garcia watched his friend scrape out a cup of 4 hour old coffee from the old burn scarred coffee pot. "You should try to get a few hours sleep."

"No," Taggert took a long drink of the drudge and sighed much like a junkie getting his next fix. "We need to keep on this."

"You won't be any good if you burn out. You need to have fresh eyes, or if not fresh eyes, alert ones." Garcia pressed. "You've been on for over 27 hours straight man, you're not a machine."

Taggert ignored him and moved back to the sparse files on his desk that made up the evidence they had managed to collect thus far. He picked up the transcription of Emily's statement and began to read it for the 20th time.

Garcia recognized the set expression on his friend's face and took a seat across from him at the desk and picked up his own notes. "Hmm," he said after a few minutes of reading.

Taggert looked up. "What? Did you catch something?"

"I don't know if it's anything yet," Garcia answered tentatively, scanning his notes then the official statement. "But it's something a little strange."

"What?" Taggert demanded. They had, had no fresh leads, since Emily Quartermaine had walked through the door. Oh there had been hundreds of bogus leads that the station had gotten after the WLPC news report had aired, but so far none of them had panned out. The 24-hour window was almost gone, and he knew how bad that could be in an investigation.

"Emily mentioned that she had pulled herself up by a red throw on the couch at one point during her fight with Lucky in the studio," Garcia started.

"I know."

"I don't remember seeing a red throw in the studio. I remember the puke green couch, but no red throw, do you remember seeing one?" Garcia asked.

Taggert closed his eyes and pulled the memory of the studio up. "No there wasn't one."

"So where did it go?"

"Are you boys playing a game with me?" Dr. Aaron "Whitey" Ford, interrupted the conversation at the desk with a snarl.

Taggert leveled a glare at the older man. "What?"

Whitey sighed, belatedly remembering Taggert's connection with these cases, he took a breath and tried again. "Are you sure no one worked the studio before my team got there?"

"We called forensics right away," Garcia replied. "Just like procedure calls for. Why?"

Whitey shook his head and leaned a hip on the desk across from them. "Because I swear a tech worked the studio before I did."

That caught Taggert's interest. "Why do you say that?"

"Someone was definitely there before you two."

"Couldn't it have been traffic from Lucky, or Emily?" Garcia tried, he didn't really want to mention his hunch that Jason and/or Sonny had been at the studio before they had arrived. He knew it was only a matter of time before Taggert reached that conclusion himself, but he hoped it would be later. Given the feelings of animosity that existed between the three men, if Taggert began to believe that Gia would still be alive, if Jason and Sonny hadn't gotten involved, he knew it would be very bad.

"I know how to tell the difference between someone contaminating the scene, and someone working the scene," arrogance was Whitey's biggest vice, and it came out in his tone. "There were lots of people who contaminated the scene, including you two, but there was one person who worked the scene. And they were good."

"How do you know?"

"I can't point to any one thing, and even if I did you wouldn't catch the importance. The way a small speck of blood was missing where it should have been, no strands of thread or hair, where there should be some," he shrugged. "I can't explain it, but I know someone, with experience worked that scene before we got there. As far as I can tell only samples were taken, so the scene hasn't really been tampered with, but I thought you should know."

"Francis Carnivale," Taggert said suddenly.

Garcia closed his eyes and waited.

"Who?" Whitey asked, drumming his fingers on the desk.

"Francis is one of Sonny's boys. He's an ex-cop, who had several rotations in crime scene, forensic work. He's the one that always cleans up after Corinthos and Morgan," Taggert explained coolly. "He's the reason you and your techs, never find any evidence that can be linked to Corinthos."

Whitey bristled at the jab, but before he could shoot off a reply he caught Garcia's shake of the head, and he bit it back. It was painful but he tried. "Maybe, but it seems the detective side of investigating those crimes, couldn't find any evidence either." It just wasn't in his nature not to jab back, at least a little.

"I know," Taggert agreed, shocking both Whitey and Garcia, he got up and moved to the chalkboard.

"A former cop with experience in forensics, would explain why we could find no physical evidence to link Corinthos to anything," Whitey conceded. But if Taggert heard, he gave no sign, he was too busy staring at the name Lucky Spencer and all the lines that shot off from it on the board. "But why would he care about Spencer?"

"Elizabeth Webber and Emily Quartermaine," Garcia explained. "Both him and Morgan are tight with those two, and Lucky hurt them both."

"Garcia," Officer Andy Capelli cleared his throat behind the Detective. "You have another one."

"Give it to someone else, the Spencer case is priority," he waved the younger man off.

"This one more than likely is tied with Spencer," Capelli pressed. He went on louder when Taggert turned around to look. "The body Mac's kids found in the river, was just identified. It's our missing girl Elizabeth Webber," he held out the file.

Garcia closed his eyes for a long minute before taking the file. "Are they sure?"

"Yeah. Apparently her parents did that Ident-A-Kid program when she was 8 in Boulder, Colorado. Fingerprints don't change no matter how old you get. So the prints of an 8 year old Elizabeth Webber, match those of the girl in the river."

"Christ," Taggert moved forward and sank limply in a chair, rubbing his eyes, his voice cracked when he went on. "How many more bodies are we going to find? How many more will pay before Spencer dies?"

Garcia stood up and shielded Taggert from Capelli's view. "I hear the body was pretty messed up?"

"Yeah her face got caught in the blade of a propeller, so the fingerprint identification was the only one we had, besides her clothes and jewelry," he tapped the folder in Garcia's hands. "It's all there."

"Thanks," Garcia nodded in dismissal before looking at Whitey.

"I'm already on it." An energized Whitey cried loudly before scurrying out of the room, nearly knocking over Lily the dispatcher in his haste.

Garcia turned back towards Taggert who was alert again. "You want to do this now?"

Taggert glanced at his watch and swallowed hard. "You better get started alone," he stood up and quietly pushed his chair up under the desk. "I need to pick up my mother at the airport."

What could you say to that? How could you offer comfort to your best friend, when he just lost his sister? Garcia didn't know how, so he nodded, the only way he could help Taggert, was by finding Lucky. "I'll begin the notifications."

Notifications. Taggert smirked bitterly at that word. Today he had been the notified instead of the notifyer. His job would never be the same again. "I'll be back later."

"Take your time," even as he said the words he knew Marcus would ignore them. With a sigh he opened the file, and the first thing he saw was the missing red throw wrapped around the body of Elizabeth Webber.

****

~Jake's~

"You're a little over dressed aren't you O'Brien?" Jake called out when she recognized the man who had just entered the crowded bar. She looked at the clock, 9:30. "You're early too."

Johnny frowned at the blonde, for once not caring what she was saying. "Have you seen Jason?"

Jake's smile vanished and she moved towards the end of the bar where there was less people. "I knew he was back in town, that explains everything."

"Explains what?" Belatedly he noticed that there were only fragments remaining where there had once been a large mirror behind the bar. "What the hell happened?"

"Someone broke in last night. They smashed the mirror with a pool ball, then went upstairs and trashed one of the rooms. They even went so far as to shoot a hole in one of the pillows," Jake lowered her voice. "The room was the one I keep empty for Jason. I was going to let you or one of the boys know the next time you came in."

"Shit." Johnny rubbed at his forehead in frustration. "So you haven't actually seen Jason?"

"Not yet."

"Thanks. If you do see him call me or Sonny immediately," he began to move away then stopped when an idea came to him. "Do you know who Elizabeth Webber is?"

"Yeah," Jake left it at that. Johnny probably already knew that she had seen Elizabeth here with Jason, but in case he didn't she wasn't going to volunteer the information.

"When was the last time you saw her?" Johnny pressed. "It's important Jake."

She could tell from the serious look in his eyes that it was, and she thought about it. The memory, when it came, wasn't a pretty one. "It was April, maybe a day or two after I knew Jason was gone again. I was in one of the other rooms, and I heard a crash come from his empty room. I opened the door and saw a very pale and frightened looking Elizabeth, standing next to a broken lamp, and Lucky Spencer standing where the lamp should have been on the other side of the room."

"Two days?" Johnny questioned. If the abuse had started that early, Elizabeth must have been in hell.

"Yeah," she could tell from his expression that he was reading the scene the same way she had, and didn't like the conclusion any better than she did.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"To who? I would have if I could have reached Jason," Jake replied. "I never heard any of you even mention Elizabeth, I only ever saw her with Jason. There was no reason to think you would care."

"I guess that's right," he sighed and focused on the blonde again. "Remember the instant you see him call. And if you see Lucky Spencer, go the other way and call."

"You know I rented a Spencer a room once. I read people pretty well, so I knew he would be okay," she moved back behind the bar. "But if Lucky had come to me asking for a room, with eyes like he had that day in Jason's room, he couldn't have hit the door fast enough for me. Those eyes were of a man possessed, they weren't the same as they once were."

"You have no idea how right you are Jake," Johnny commented before heading outside. He waited until he was in the car before placing the call.

__

"Yeah."

"He's not at Jake's. But it looks like Lucky was sometime last night. He trashed Jason's room, even shooting at the bed," Johnny reported.

__

They had missed him again. Sonny wasn't used to feeling this helpless or frustrated. "You need to find him."

"I have a few more ideas," Johnny hesitated then decided to share the burden with someone else. "I don't know if you want to know this or not, but Jake shared a memory about Elizabeth and Lucky."

__

He didn't know if he wanted to hear it either, but he had too. "What is it?"

"Two days after Jason left town, Elizabeth went to Jake's looking for him. Lucky followed, or found her there, he broke a lamp, from the sounds of it, he broke it throwing it at her."

__

"Two days?" Sonny pinched his nose hard enough to bring pain and fought back the blackness in his mind. "Keep looking."

"I'm on it," Johnny hung up and frowned at the man beside him.

Manny squirmed. "What?"

"How the hell could you let him take off on the bike?" Johnny demanded.

"Hey don't try to turn this around on me," Manny shot back. "Since I've been in the organization it has been stressed that if Mr. Corinthos or Jason asks for something you get it for them no questions asked. Jason called and requested a bike a few hours ago, so I brought him the bike."

"He was upset, how could you let him take it?"

"How was I supposed to tell he was upset?" Manny demanded. "His expression hardly ever changes. We don't call him the iceman for nothing."

"Don't," Johnny hissed a warning. "Don't dismiss him like that. You know better."

"I know," Manny sighed guiltily. "I was out of the loop Johnny. Jason requested a bike, so I brought it to him. I didn't know what all had been going down. I was at my sister's until three hours ago. I got back, I came on duty, and Jason called and wanted a bike. When he saw me in the garage, he looked a little wrecked, but his voice was in control, he was in control when he took off. I didn't know what was going on until you showed up a few minutes later."

"We just have to find him Manny," Johnny decided to let the blame game die for now. "And we need to find him soon."

****

~Penthouse~

"Sonny what is it?" Carly was by his side as soon as he hung up. "Did Johnny find him?"

"No," he moved past her to the couch.

"What happened?" Alexis asked.

"Yeah what's going on now?" Zander asked his eyes moving towards the stairs. He wanted to be up there with Emily. But as soon as she fell asleep, Carly had appeared and told him to come down again.

"There was a body pulled out of the river by Bannister's Wharf. It was Elizabeth." Sonny explained shortly.

"Oh god," horrified Alexis could only shake her head in disbelief.

"This is going to kill Emily," Zander's first thought was on the person he loved. She already felt like she was responsible, this was only going to make her feel worse.

"You need to keep the TV off, no radio either, she isn't ready to know about Elizabeth," Carly took charge, and began giving orders to Zander. "If she asks about Jason, try to divert her attention. I know," she held up her hand when Alexis began to speak, and her voice turned snarky. "She will find out eventually, but the longer it takes, the stronger she will be when she does."

"I was just going to say that we'll need to head off Monica as well," Alexis stated.

"Oh god that viper is coming here?" Carly groaned.

"That vip…woman is Emily's mother," Zander reminded her.

Carly rolled her eyes and headed to the wet bar. If she was going to see her former mother in law, she was going to need a drink.

"I'm going to get back to the hospital. I don't want Nikolas to hear about Elizabeth the wrong way," Alexis picked up her briefcase and moved towards the door.

"Thanks," Sonny trailed her to the door. "I know you had to leave your own family to help Emily."

"My 'family' helped create this situation," Alexis reminded him. "If something else happens, you know where to find me."

****

~Yacht~

"Really Andreas, I don't know what I am going to do with you," Helena studied her manservant. "I told you I wanted Lucky Spencer dead, and not only have you not managed to do that, you don't even know where he is."

"Madame it has been difficult, Mr. Corinthos' men as well as the police have been out in force looking for him. We have people following them, if one of them find Mr. Spencer, we will relieve them of him, before they can deliver him," Andreas tried to head off her wrath. He was quite fond of his throat being in one piece.

"Excuses are one thing I will not tolerate. So is failure. I am already displeased that Lucky Spencer broke before I was ready for him too. Do not try my patience very much longer."

"Intimidating the help again Mother?" Stefan offered from the doorway of the salon. "The only people who quiver in your presence anymore, are your lovers, in horror of course. And your paid minions, my how the mighty have fallen."

Helena gracefully reached for her glass of Sherry, by no manner did she give away her nerves at Stefan's unexpected presence. "Stefan to what do I owe this displeasure too?"

"I think you know mother, your latest and costliest plan yet, just backfired," he moved into the room, ignoring Andreas entirely.

"What are you burbling about now?" She asked dismissively.

"Your plans for Lucky Spencer, are all for naught. Nikolas knows it was you who killed his brother."

"Lucky is dead?" Helena got to her feet at the unexpected news. "My dear Nikolas must be so distraught. What do you mean I killed him?"

"Yes he is distraught, but he is also angry," Stefan moved quietly up behind her. "And you know who he is angriest at?"

Helena controlled the shiver his voice awoke in her and sipped her drink. "You are beginning to bore me Stefan."

"He's angry at you mother."

"Why would be angry with me?" Helena turned around and eyed her son. "I certainly didn't kill Lucky. I didn't even know he was dead."

"He died in 1999 mother, when you had Faison take him away from Nikolas and the Spencers."

"I didn't arrange for that to happen, Faison did that, I rescued Lucky and returned him to Nikolas," she responded stepping past him.

"Nikolas doesn't see it that way, in fact he sent me here with a message."

Helena turned around a small smile on her face. "What does the Prince ask of me?"

"He wanted you to know that it was time for you to start looking over your shoulder," he saw her pale and his smile turned vicious. "Congratulations mother, you taught Nikolas how to hate, and you're the person he is focused on."

"I don't know what kind of lies you have been filling Nikolas' head with but I have done nothing to hurt him. I would never hurt him."

Her voice was firm, but Stefan saw her hand shake, and enjoyed her discomfort. "You finally got your wish, he is turning in to a true Cassadine. And you remember how forgiving the Cassadine's are, don't you?" He gave her a final smile in warning and then left the salon.

Helena waited until she was sure he was gone before she sagged slightly. "Andreas I want Lucky Spencer now."

****

~General Hospital~

Bobbie sighed wearily, giving into temptation she leaned against the wall. This day was rapidly turning into one of the worst in her life, and it wasn't over yet. She still hadn't fully grasped the idea that her nephew was the one who had caused all of this damage, but the longer she was awake, the harder it was getting to deny. 

During the slow hours, her brain had taken the opportunity to run through her memories of Lucky, both the good and the bad. In the last year or so since he had returned they were mostly bad. All the signs that there was something seriously wrong with him, were so blaringly bright in hindsight it was a wonder she wasn't blind.

Yet at the same time, the memories of the sweet 10 year-old boy who had first stolen her heart, the first time she had seen him at Kelly's, were there. It was so hard for her to rationalize them with the person the 10 year-old had become.

"Bobbie?"

She opened her eyes at the sound of her name and saw the sad expression on the man's face. "Oh god tell me he's not dead."

"No," Detective Garcia spoke quickly trying to ease the fear. "We haven't found him yet."

She sagged in relief. "I know he's done bad things, horrible things, but I'm terrified for him."

"That's understandable, he's still your nephew. He's still the kid who used to get in my face when he thought I wasn't helping Elizabeth enough," he stopped himself when he remembered why he was here.

Bobbie picked up on the hesitation. "What happened?"

"Can I see Audrey Hardy?" Garcia tried to deflect her question.

"It's after visiting hours."

"It's important Bobbie," Garcia replied.

"Is it about Elizabeth?" She saw the way his gaze shifted and knew it was. "Tell me what you know about Elizabeth."

"I can't…"

"Goddamnit Garcia, tell me," she caught his arm before he could walk away.

Dr. Kevin Collins turned the corner in time to hear her loud demand and quickly made her way to the pair.

"I need to see Audrey," Garcia tried again.

"Tell me," Bobbie hissed. "Tell me she's not dead."

"I'm sorry Bobbie," Garcia admitted the truth finally. "We found her a few hours ago, she was in the river."

Horrified Bobbie covered her mouth and staggered back. Memories of her conversation with Lucas and then with Roy came back to her. The girl in the river, the girl who had been cut by the propeller blade, the girl her son had found. "No."

"I'm sorry Bobbie."

"It can't be Elizabeth. She can't be dead. Lucky couldn't have," she staggered again and Kevin caught her before she could fall.

"Bobbie let's sit down," Kevin said quickly trying to calm her.

At the sound of his voice, anger surged inside of her and she tore free of him. "Don't you dare talk to me. You knew something was wrong with Lucky. You knew and you didn't tell anyone."

"Bobbie it wasn't like that," Kevin answered. "I didn't know he would get this violent."

She jumped on his words. "This violent? As compared to what, just violent?" She demanded, shoving him back a step.

Garcia quickly stepped between them. "You knew there was a problem with Lucky?"

Kevin grimaced. "Lucky is a patient of mine yes, and before you ask, I can't tell you anymore. Client/patient confidentiality."

Doctors, Garcia shook his head. "We'll see what the Court says about that. But Bobbie is right, if you knew he was dangerous and you didn't warn people, you can be considered an accessory to his crimes, and right now his crimes number 4 murders, 2 attempted murders, and an assault."

"4?" Kevin asked, he was only aware of Cal Rogers and Gia Campbell.

"We found Elizabeth Webber, and another missing girl named Jane Morrisey, we believe Lucky killed them both." 

"Are you sure?" Bobbie asked desperate to keep hope alive.

"We have a witness who saw Lucky choking Elizabeth, right before the time the coroner estimates that she was thrown in the river, and died. The other girl was killed at the boxcar," he kept the details of her death to himself.

"Jesus," Bobbie wiped the tail tale track of tears from her face and straightened her spine. "I'll go with you to see Audrey."

"I think I should go too," Kevin offered. "She's going to need someone."

"I think you've done enough Kevin," Bobbie cut him off. "This way Detective," she inclined her head and left without another word to Kevin. "Have you informed her parents?"

"Not yet," Garcia admitted. "We haven't been able to track them down, apparently they were taking a mini-vacation in Africa, they're on a safari somewhere. We did manage to reach her sister in Paris, and also her brother in Boulder. I think he's flying in tomorrow or the next day. Sarah was going to try to get a flight today."

"Better late then never," Bobbie muttered. "This is going to be hard on Audrey, her only thought since she woke up has been about Elizabeth." 

Garcia peered through the glass at the older woman who was still hooked up to several machines. "I don't think any of this is going to be easy on anybody."

Bobbie sighed, trying to brace herself, then moved into the room. Audrey's eyes opened right away and that dispelled her hope that Audrey would be asleep.

Kevin moved to the window, a part of him still reeling from Bobbie's accusation. He believed in protecting his patient's privacy rights. He had made that oath years ago and still believed in it. Yet, he was still a human being and if someone had known what his brother Ryan had been going to do, he would have been angry if they hadn't told him.

But he hadn't known for sure. He knew Lucky's disassociation was rising, as was his anger, but he didn't know he would go off like this. His attention was caught by a wail coming from the other room, and he focused on the three people in the room. Bobbie was trying to calm Audrey, while the older woman writhed on the bed shaking her head. Garcia was standing there looking like he would rather be anywhere then there. 

He jolted when the alarm on the machines by Audrey's bed began to go off. All he could do was watch as Bobbie began to perform CPR on the older woman, soon he was jostled out of the way when several nurses and a doctor went charging past him into the room.

He hadn't known for sure that Lucky would break so violently. But when all of this ended, would that even matter. Would there be anybody left for him to apologize too?

****

~GH 4th Floor~

"Are you sure Alexis? There's no chance that it was a mistake?"

Alexis tightened her grip on her nephew's hand. "I don't see how Nikolas. The police are notifying her family right now, and the person who told me would give anything if it weren't true. But I'm afraid it is. Elizabeth is dead."

Nikolas focused on the white tiled ceiling. He had made it up to 214 before his aunt had come in. "Lucky did it?"

"It looks that way," she leaned forward concerned at his lack of reaction. "Nikolas are you alright?"

"I don't know what I am. I know what your saying, but they're just words, they don't mean anything yet," he brought his hand up to his cheek, and wasn't surprised to feel it was dry. "I can't even cry. Do you think I've lost that ability too?"

"No Nikolas. You've had the worst day of your life, and you're probably in emotional shock. You heart is saying it can't handle anymore right now. When you can, then you'll grieve."

He shook his head and took a deep breath. "I can still smell her perfume on my skin. I don't want that to fade."

Alexis' heart broke at the words, and she dashed at her own tears before going on. "It will fade, but your memories of Gia will always be there, in your heart, in your mind, in your soul."

Nikolas showed the first flash of life, she had seen in him when the door opened and Stefan walked in the room. "Did you see her?" He demanded.

"I gave her your message Nikolas," Stefan crossed to the bed. "She was concerned."

"I want her concerned, I want her afraid, then I want her gone." He said before focusing on the tiles and his counting again.

His words were chilling to hear and very unexpected. They were delivered in a calm voice, devoid of any emotion, he could have been ordering dinner for all the interest he showed. And yet Nikolas meant them, and that was most frightening thing of all to his family.

****

~Morgue~

"She should have been safe here Marcus," Florence screamed. "My baby should have been safe here. This was the one advantage of living here over New York, she would be safer here."

"I know mom," he tightened his hold on her arm, afraid she might stagger again. She had made it through the viewing, signed the necessary papers, and held on until she got out the door. But then she had collapsed in his arms. He held her while she cried, while she raged out her tears. A part of him envied her tears. He hadn't let any fall yet, and knew he wouldn't, he couldn't, not if he wanted to keep going on.

She pounded on his chest. "You're a police officer, why didn't you protect her?"

He was aware that most family members of victims, at one point or the other, raged at the police. It was easier to blame the police for not protecting them, then to blame the victim for dying. He knew that, and he understood it, yet her words still cut deep.

"Lucky had killed before, why didn't you stop him Marcus? Why didn't you stop him before he took my baby?"

Was it worth trying to explain the truth to her? Would she even hear, that the first body had barely been ID'd when Gia had been shot? That they didn't even know who they were looking for, until Gia had been shot? Would she even hear the words? 

"I know mom. I should have stopped him earlier," instead of the truth, he offered the words he knew she needed to hear.

Florence began to shake, something deep inside of her was irrevocably broken, and nothing would ever be right again. "A parent should never bury their child," came the broken whisper. "I don't know how to do that."

Taggert caught her before she fell. "I'll handle it mama," he took her weight and began to move to the elevator.

"I just don't understand why?" Her anger was gone, at least for the moment, and haunting questions took its place. "I fought with her the last time I saw her. I fought with her a lot of the times I saw her. I never told her, god I never told her."

"Told her what mom?" He asked helping her in the elevator. 

"That I was proud of her," she clutched his hand and leaned back to search his face. "Do you think she knew I was proud?"

"I know she did." This lie was important as the last had been, and his mother must have believed it, because the tears started again. 

"Why?" Was the last word she managed to say before the doors closed.

Michele Peters waited until the door closed before exiting the morgue and locking the door behind her. Family notification was always the worst part of her job. When she told people that, she could tell that most didn't believe her. They believed that cutting up a person, had to be the hardest thing in the world.

She could never fully explain that she would gladly do 50 autopsies in a row, if it meant she never had to stand across from a mother, who was still holding out hope that their child was still alive, then watch that hope wither and die, when they saw their child on the gurney. Watch the hope turn into death of a sort, when they realized the person they loved most in the world was never coming back. That was something no medical book could prepare you for, and it was the worst part of her job.

She pulled the protective booties from her shoes and dropped them in the bin, before heading towards the stairs. It was time for a much needed cigarette break, she glanced at the clock on the wall. 11:30, she only had another half-our, and she could go home. She was probably the only person looking forward to July 5th. Habit had her flipping off most of the lights, so the hall was dimly lit.

~*~*~*~

The fire door needed oil, it made a loud creak when it was opened. But no one was around to hear it. If he were one that noticed the setting of things, he would realize that the dim lights, the creaky door, and the long antiseptic hall, fit the needs of a morgue perfectly. 

But he wasn't the type to notice things like that. Even if he was, he couldn't tonight. Tonight all he was doing was putting one foot in front of the other.

In stark contrast to the fire door, the door that led to the coolers, made almost no noise when he picked the lock and pushed it open. Just a soft swish as the sleeve on the bottom of the door brushed the floor. He paused just inside the door, staring at a wall of about 20 little doors, each with a handle on them, much like he had seen on the handle of the big freezer at Luke's.

It took another minute but finally he turned from those freezers and moved to the filing cabinet by the desk. He made quick work of one drawer, then the other, searching for the information he needed, but he couldn't find it. He shut his eyes hard, bracing himself to search the freezers one by one. He opened his eyes, and saw her name on a file that was resting on top of the file cabinet.

Thirteen. She was in freezer 13.

Jason ran a hand over his tired eyes. He didn't want to see her, and yet he had too. He still couldn't believe she was dead. But, that, was what the police believed, it was what Sonny believed. Should it matter that he didn't? That he couldn't. 

His hand hovered over the metal bar that opened the freezer. If it was her, did he really want his last memory of her to be how she looked in death? "No," he shook his head. He didn't want to remember her that way.

But he still opened the drawer and slid the gurney out. He could see the blood stains on the dull gray sheet covering her. The sheet draped her body exposing the small outline of Elizabeth. He reached for the top of the sheet and was surprised to see his hand shake slightly. The last time it had shook, was the first time Sonny had handed him a gun, and then it was only a nervous tremor. But this was a definite shake.

He brought his hand back down, and moved the sheet around her waist, exposing the slim white hand to view. Her nails were clear for once, but they were chipped, and jagged in places. 

His mind flashed back to the last night he had seen her in the park. He had held out his hand to her and she had tentatively raised her hand, and for a heartbeat he had thought she was going to take it. But in the end she hadn't, and in the end, he hadn't pushed her. He had left.

He focused on her hand and picked it up from the table. It was ice cold, and limp in his hand. 

She hated the cold.

Her hand disappeared in his, just like it always had. Jason could see a faint trace of blood under some of the nails, when he turned it over. The hand was too small to fight for long. She was too small to fight alone.

Yet he had still left her.

His eye locked on her white limp hand while memory after memory raced through his mind. How many times had he taken her hand? How many times had she held onto him on the bike with this hand? Now it would never hold anything again.

That thought made him angry. The anger gave him the need to see her face one more time. He jerked the sheet back, expecting to see her face, what he saw shocked him and stepped back in horror.

"Eliz…" He couldn't even say her name. Her dancing eyes were gone, her mile wide smile, was gone, the only thing left was the brutal aftermath of Lucky's destruction. What had once been beautiful had been rendered ugly.

Her hand slipped from his hold, and the sound of it hitting the table broke his paralysis, and he tore from the room. The door slammed open, knocking over an unsuspecting Michele, but he never paused. He was at the fire door and out of it, before Michele had even got to her feet. 

****

~Yacht~

Helena moved into her stateroom, pausing to remove her jewelry before moving on to the closet. She opened it and removed one of her robes, she could hear the sounds of Andreas drawing her bath in the other room, and she moved back to the bed, to await it's readiness. Lying down she closed her eyes. She was almost asleep when she felt the bed depress beside her. "Andreas never presume," she informed him without opening her eyes. "This will hardly get you back in my fav…" 

She trailed off when she felt the press of a cool blade on her throat. Startled she opened her eyes, and looked into the eyes of a madman. She realized immediately that she was looking into the eyes of her killer.

****

~Cliff Road~

__

"It felt like we were flying." 

He grimaced and took another curve.

__

"I am in love with you."

He revved the engine, pushing the bike's speedometer up to speeds of over 70 on a road that he should have been doing 40 on.

__

"I have to help him I may be the only one who can."

He took a curve even faster, and the bike fishtailed a little as it caught some of the sand on the road.

__

18 times in two days.

He saw the signs warning him about the roadwork ahead, but he didn't care. Instead of slowing he went even faster. And as he broke through the sign announcing the road ended in 10 feet, he could swear he could hear her laughter racing him on the wind.


	15. The Longest Night

**__**

Thanks to all of those who reply. It means a lot.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~*

****

Her Greatest Mistake

Chapter 14

The Longest Night

****

~Penthouse 2~

Zander stared blindly out of the window into the night. This neverending day was about to be over, and yet he felt no relief. Too much had happened since Emily had failed to meet him the night before, so much had gone on he hadn't had the time to process it yet. It had been hard, harder then he thought it would be, to close out the anger and focus solely on Emily. Every time he saw her bruised face, every time she whimpered in pain, every time her eyes filled in horror and disbelief he wanted to kill Lucky Spencer. Yet he knew that if he ever did, it would cost him her forever. The last tears she had shed tonight had been over the loss of her oldest friend. The fact that she could still love Lucky after all he had done, was amazing to him. But Emily's capacity to love had always amazed him.

Emily whimpered on the bed and moved, fighting the covers, and he instantly moved back to the bed to try to comfort her. It was selfish but he wanted her to sleep as long as possible. As long as she was asleep she could hope that Elizabeth was still alive. Because when she woke up, they would have to take that hope from her, he didn't want to see the light die in her eyes.

"You're safe Emily," Zander whispered running a careful hand over her hair. "I'm right here and you're safe."

Moaning lightly she turned in her sleep to face him, and he saw the tears that were coming from her eyes. It seemed that even in sleep she couldn't escape this nightmare. Moving carefully he crawled on the bed behind her, pulling her to him in a loose hold, and murmured nonsensical words until she stilled again.

"Sleep baby, just sleep."

****

~Yacht~

"Lucky to what do I owe this unexpected visit?" Helena asked coolly, only the slight tremor in her voice betrayed her nervousness.

"I keep hearing your voice in my head and I don't know why." Lucky pressed the blade against her throat. "Why do I hear you?"

"I don't know Lucky. Perhaps if we move into the salon I can help you figure this out."

"I don't think so," he trailed the knife down the smooth column of her throat. "What did you do to me this time Helena?"

"I did nothing to you Lucky. Remember it was I who rescued you from Faison," she kept her eyes locked on him, but was very aware of the ice princess that was hidden in a box on her bedside table. All she had to do was get the diamond and Lucky would be under her control again.

"Is that what happened?" Lucky whispered his confusion. The memories were so fuzzy in his head that he didn't know what was real and what wasn't. The pain echoing through his mind didn't help either. But still there was a part of him that screamed she was lying to him. "You controlled me."

"No I did not, that was all Faison, remember?" Seeing the unfocused glaze enter the boy's eyes she kept her voice low to further her manipulation. "I helped you Lucky. You know that I always helped you."

Lucky drew back slightly, lowering the knife from her throat. "You gave me a job."

"That's right," Helena beamed at her prized pupil. If she could stall a little longer Andreas would come and check on her. "I helped you break free of your parents and all the lies that they told you."

Memories assailed Lucky, memories of fighting with Luke, with Laura, even with Nikolas.

His weight shifted again and Helena moved slightly trying to gauge the boy's awareness. He seemed to be in a trance. Slowly she extended a hand reaching for the box on the table.

"You slapped me," he cried out suddenly, his eyes lighting in anger. "You threatened me and slapped me."

"You admitted to spying on me, and I lost my temper with you," she explained calmly. "I apologized and I even helped you with Nikolas, don't you remember?"

"Nikolas?" His expression softened at the mention of his brother's name.

Helena's fingers gripped the corner of the box and drew it to the edge of the table.

"Elizabeth belongs with Nikolas," Lucky announced loudly. Furious again he brought the knife back to her face. "You made me say that and it was a lie."

Keeping her eyes trained on his face, her fingers worked desperately at the latch trying to open it. "My dear you believed that too."

"Where is Elizabeth?" The unreasonable anger was back, so too was the blinding desire to find Elizabeth. That was why he had come here, because he needed to find her. Helena had Elizabeth and he needed to know where. "What have you done to her?"

"I don't hav…" she trailed off in a hiss when Lucky pressed the blade to her throat drawing blood.

"I know you took her," he drew the tip of the blade down her throat opening a paper-thin cut. "I remember. You took her from me, and I want her back."

The latch finally gave and Helena wasted no time in gripping the oversized diamond in her hand. Before Lucky even realized she was moving she had the rock in front of his face. Lucky automatically focused on the rock and his eyes stayed there.

Recognizing the look of the lost, Helena smiled. "That's right Lucky, look at the ice princess and let all that anger come," she encouraged the boy. "You will hear my voice and obey. Isn't that right Lucky?"

"Right," Lucky murmured automatically.

"Good," nodding in approval she allowed herself an extra moment to relish her power over the boy, over Luke Spencer's son. "Put the knife down and get off of me," she ordered finally.

Pain coursed through his head along with her words, and his hand clenched convulsively at the knife. Her words were strong and the compulsion to obey them was very strong in him.

__

"Kill her Lucky."

Elizabeth's voice drifted to him, over the echo of Helena's words, and he clung to her voice like a lifeline.

"Lucky I said get off of me," Helena hissed.

__

"Kill her Lucky."

Turning his head he saw Elizabeth standing beside him, wearing the dress she had worn the first night he had taken her to the No Name. She had looked so pretty that night, and they had danced so sweetly. "You want me to kill her Elizabeth?"

Helena gasped at the question. "Lucky," she thrust the diamond in his direction again. "You must obey me."

__

"Get rid of that Lucky."

"Okay," Lucky knocked the ice princess from Helena's hand. The power it once held over him was gone. His broken mind had no master anymore, not even him. "What now?"

__

"Kill her Lucky," Elizabeth whispered, her smile strangely ghostlike. "Kill her for me. Please."

"Whatever you want Elizabeth," Lucky agreed eager to please her.

When his maddened eyes found hers again Helena tasted fear in a way she never had before. "Lucky you…" she broke off on a gasp when the knife blade pierced her skin. Shock quickly gave way to fiery pain that was radiating from her side when he twisted the knife n deeper. "Andreas," finding her voice she tried to scream, but the name came out on barely more than a whisper.

"What do I do now Elizabeth?" Lucky turned to look for her but she was gone. "Elizabeth?" getting off a lifeless Helena he began to search the stateroom. "Elizabeth."

Helena struggled to reach the phone on the table. If she could knock it off the hook, it would ring in Andreas' room, and he would know to come to her. All she had to do was reach it.

"What did you do with Elizabeth?" Lucky leaped for the bed, knocking the table over in his haste. He pulled her up and began to shake her by the shoulders. "Where is she?"

Fighting the darkness, Helena's head lolled to the side and she saw the phone, lying on the floor. The phone that was now off the hook, and knew it was only a matter of time. "I'll never tell you Lucky. But you should know that you just signed her death sentence."

Horrified he dropped her and staggered to his feet. The heavy scent of blood permeated the room, it was a stench he was becoming quite familiar with. "I'll find her. You won't win Helena," Lucky yelled before charging for the door.

"Andreas," Helena called out weakly, the darkness once again reaching out for her. He would be here soon, and then she would take her revenge.

Andreas waited for the sounds of Lucky's passing to fully disappear before stepping out of his hiding place and into the darkened hallway. It had been a very entertaining show, one he had enjoyed immensely.

Hearing Helena call for him again, he allowed himself a smile of triumph. It was time he finally got his revenge on her. Revenge for Ari, for his parents, for himself. The witch was finally dying and he couldn't be happier.

Straightening the cuffs on his sleeve he moved down the hall to his own stateroom. Tonight instead of the Merlot, he would open a bottle of Dom, after all what was a celebration without champagne?

"Andreas," Helena called out, she could feel the blood draining from her, but was still confident. She would soon have her revenge.

****

~Lighthouse~

"Why are you still up Lucy?" Kevin Collins moved wearily into the bedroom and saw his lover sitting up in bed reading, despite the lateness of the hour.

"I was waiting for you Doc," Lucy Coe closed her magazine. "I saw the news. I wanted to come to the hospital, but Serena is here tonight and I couldn't leave her. How bad was it?"

"It was pretty awful," Kevin slumped on the bed. "Audrey had a stroke when they told her about Elizabeth. They managed to revive her, but they doubt she will live through the night."

"Oh no," Lucy's eyes filled with tears and she draped her arms around his shoulders and hugged herself to him. "How are you? I know you've been treating Lucky."

"Me? I'm just fine. I didn't even do anything wrong, at least not ethically," Kevin spouted off sourly. "Except Bobbie blames me. They will all blame me."

"That's not true. Doc you were only doing your job," She tugged on his shoulder until he looked at her. "You didn't know Lucky was going to snap like this. If you had known, ethics or not, you would have told someone. You would have done something."

"Would I?" He whispered. "I'm not so sure. 4 people are dead, Audrey may die before the night is out. Nikolas is lying in a hospital bed. All because no one knew about Lucky."

"You can't take responsibility for this. You were trying to save him from what Faison and Helena did to him. You didn't cause this," Lucy's dark eyes pleaded desperately with his to listen to her.

Kevin just shook his head and went to work on his shoes.

"Have you seen Luke or Laura yet?" Lucy switched tracks. Her heart was breaking for her friend and ex-partner all over again. Loosing Lucky the first time had nearly killed Luke, she had no idea how he would handle this. "Luke is going to be in so much pain."

Snorting in disgust Kevin headed for the bathroom.

"I know Luke won't believe that Lucky is capable of this kind of violence. It's hard for me to believe he's capable of this. He was the sweetest kid, this will destroy Luke," Lucy continued on.

"What make you think Luke didn't know what Lucky was capable of?" Kevin demanded angrily his derision evident in his eyes.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked, seeing the disgust on her lover's face she went on slowly. "You mean Luke knew he was violent?"

Angry with himself for telling her that much Kevin turned and headed into the bathroom. "I need a shower."

"Oh my god. Luke knew," Lucy whispered, the horrifying realization of that made her feel ill.

****

~General Hospital~

"Here, it might help, but then again it might kill you," Alexis held out a cup of coffee that looked and smelled even worse then her own. "It might be safe to drink, if not we are in a hospital."

"Sometimes your sense of humor eludes me," Stefan informed his sister, yet he took the paper cup from her hand.

"That's because you have no sense of humor anymore, you have dour expressions," Alexis countered, before easing on the plastic chair next to him.

Staring at the dark liquid, he acknowledged the truth of her words, yet ignored the implications. "Perhaps you should get some rest, Nikolas will more than likely sleep the rest of the night."

"He's my nephew as well, I'll be here until he's ready to leave."

Stefan looked around carefully, checking for curious ears before shifting closer to her on the chair. "We need to talk about what Nikolas wants to do."

"You mean with Helena?" Alexis pitched her voice equally low.

"Yes. I know he wants vengeance for Ms. Campbell and for his brother, but I do not think he fully realizes what taking that step will cost him."

"Maybe he does," as a lawyer Alexis was very good at playing devil's advocate. "Maybe he's finally showing those latent Cassadine kill, kill, kill, instincts."

When Stefan merely frowned at her, Alexis grew serious. "We can't let Helena get away with her madness anymore, Nikolas is right about that."

"I agree, however, I do not want Nikolas to cross that line if he can help it, and he can," glancing around he lowered his voice once again. "If we handle it for him."

"If you're waiting for me to argue against this you will have a long wait. I already tried to kill Helena once I have no compunction over trying again."

"This time we would succeed, because you won't be relying on the games that Luke Spencer insists on playing," he snapped crossly.

"That brings up another interesting point. We might not have to do anything. Once Luke hears what Helena did to Lucky he may just end this once and for all," Alexis reminded him.

He wasn't about to rely on Luke Spencer for anything. "So we're agreed then? We'll take action before Nikolas can?"

"Agreed," her dark eyes actually shined at the prospect of ridding the world of Helena once and for all.

****

~Penthouse 4~

Sonny watched the faint light of daybreak enter the penthouse, chasing the darkness and shadows from the room. All the visible shadows anyway, but there was so much darkness in this place, no amount of sun could banish it all. He hadn't slept in days and was beginning to wonder if he ever would. Ever time he blinked, every time he closed his eyes, he saw the look on his best friend's face when he told him that it had been Elizabeth's body in the river.

He didn't know how to banish the image from his mind, from his memory. He wondered if Jason's expression in that moment, would haunt him as long as Jason's expression had haunted him when he'd seen Carly walking down the stairs in his shirt all those years ago. Christ he hoped not.

"You need to rest."

Sonny nodded but kept his position at the table.

Sighing Carly took the seat next to him, blocking the view of the window. "If you don't sleep you won't be any good to anybody."

"I'm not tired."

Carly knew he was lying but decided not to call him on it. For once she didn't feel like fighting. "Have they found him yet?" She had to ask even though she could see the answer in her husband's eyes.

"No."

Carly glanced past him to the clock on the wall. 6:30, Jason had been missing for close to 10 hours. At first she hadn't been able to deal with the realization that Jason was gone. She'd had to focus on Emily and getting her settled, without finding out about Elizabeth, and Jason. Then she'd had to deal with Queen Monica who had descended on the penthouse demanding to see Emily. Her ex-mother-in-law was capable of giving her a headache on her best days. But last night even the sound of the strident voice had been enough to make her want to shove Monica out of the window.

Sonny's presence and the fact that Emily seemed to love her mother, was the only thing that had saved the Queen's scrawny butt. But she had put her foot down, when Emily had refused to go home with Monica, and Monica had then announced her intention to stay there with Emily. Perhaps sensing the imminent bloodshed if they did stay under the same roof again, Emily was wise enough to ask her mother to leave. By the time all of that had sorted itself out, hours had passed, and she finally let herself deal with the fact that Jason was still missing.

She'd had all night to deal with that fact, and to deal with it alone. For the second night in a row, Sonny had failed to come to their bed. And even though she knew it had nothing to do with her, she was still worried. "Are you ready to talk to me?"

Sighing Sonny sipped at the coffee that had long since turned cold. "I don't want to fight with you."

"I don't want to fight either," she placed her hand over his. "You have so much on your mind you need to let some of it out."

Sonny was quiet for a long time, weighing the implication of what would happen if he did decide to speak. Would he be able to stop if he went on?

"I don't know what else I can do with you Carly. You know I love you, you know the respect I have for you as my wife. I married you before God, in our church, and yet you still doubt me."

"I don't doubt you. I know you love me."

"Then what's it going to take to get you over this insane jealousy you have?" He focused bloodshot eyes on her. "Am I not supposed to talk to any other woman other than you for the rest of my life?" 

"No, of course not," Carly denied it even as her heart leapt at the thought.

"Then why didn't you tell me that Elizabeth called? Do you honestly think that I was interested in her as more than just a friend?"

"No, yes, I don't know," she tried to think up an excuse but her mind was too tired. "If it had been anyone else I would have told you."

"Even Alexis?" Sonny smirked at the way she frowned and had his answer. "Why do you do this to us?"

"I can't help it," she admitted quietly. "She called and all those old feelings just welled up in me. I didn't like her, I'm not going to lie and change my story now. I never trusted her."

"You should have trusted me," he whispered.

"I do, it's just…" she trailed off for a long minute. "Elizabeth was one of the reasons we got together. You goaded me with her that night, telling me how much you respected her, how much better she was for Jason then I ever would be. You defended her to me time and time again, she had your respect automatically and I had to earn it. I can't … couldn't get past that." 

Wearily rubbing at his eyes, Sonny leaned on the table. "I respect you."

"Now you do, but you haven't always. Girls like Elizabeth, they got your respect automatically, they got Jason's respect automatically while I was distrusted on sight, or on reputation." For once her voice wasn't accusing, it was just matter of fact. "I've dealt with girls like that all my life, and I react the same way. I knew you didn't want Elizabeth, but I still didn't want her around you."

"So you didn't tell me she called."

"No I didn't, and I wouldn't have. I didn't know anything like this would happen, it never even crossed my mind. All I knew was that she was calling, and we were going to dinner," her smile was ironic. "There was no way in hell that I was going to interrupt our night, you can't be surprised that I reacted like this. You know me."

"I know, but I'm tired of it Carly, and now with what happened, it's hard to just dismiss it as the way you act," he got up tiredly from the table and moved to the wet bar for water. "It doesn't just affect us this time. I can tell you to stop acting like this to trust me. And you will agree, I know you will. But it's too late for that."

Uncertainty and a trace of fear compelled her to move towards him. "I can't go back and undo what I've done. You're right I can say I'm sorry and promise not to do it again, but will that be enough for you? Or do you need more? Get angry with me, yell at me, whatever, just don't shut me out."

"I can't get angry with you," turning to face her he saw the surprise on her face. "You're alive, I can't take that for granted."

At his words she closed the distance between them and hugged him. "I'm not going anywhere. You and I will get through this, and we will help Jason get through this."

Sonny sank into her embrace, drinking in the smell and feel of his volatile wife. It was frightening how much he needed her in his life. Seeing the devastation on Jason's face only made how much he loved her, hit home with him. And yet at the same time and despite his statement to the contrary, he couldn't help but be a little angry with her as well. All she had to do was tell him and _maybe_ this could have been averted.

In tune with her husband, more so at that moment then at any other time, Carly felt his slight withdrawal and wanted to change it. She knew she had to do something, something desperate to help him. She only hoped it wouldn't cost her him in the process.

"No more of this Carly, no matter what," Sonny murmured in her ear before stepping away.

Every part of her screamed that she should take the out he had unwittingly given her. But as she focused on him as he moved tiredly to the couch, the part of her heart that was reserved solely for him wouldn't let her.

"There's something else you need to know." Carly spoke before she could lose her nerve. "Something about Elizabeth," she saw him focus on her and forced herself to go on, "and me."

He couldn't help but brace himself when he saw her expression. Searching for anger all he could come up with was weariness. "What did you do?"

"I'm telling you this, when ever single fiber of my being is screaming at me to shut up. To keep my mouth shut, because there is no way that anyone can ever find out the truth. All of those involved, except me, are dead now. So I should just shut up and let this all die, right?" Breathing heavily she moved closer to the couch. "God I want to do that, you have no idea how much. But I can't. I need this to be over, I need you to know the truth, all of it."

Sonny caught her hand before she could move away and pulled her on the couch. "Tell me."

****

~Brownstone~

Bobbie eased down in the rocking chair next to her sleeping son. The relief she normally felt after finally being able to sit after twelve hours on her feet was strangely absent. The memory of having to do CPR and then use the shock paddles trying to restart one of her oldest friend's heart was one she knew would never leave her. She knew, better then most, how much Audrey had loved Elizabeth. But even she had been surprised at the depth of that love until Garcia had told her Elizabeth was dead. Adding to her own pain and fear over Audrey was the knowledge that her own nephew was responsible for all of this.

Being a nurse she had some knowledge on the workings of the human mind, because of that she was terrified that a part of the Lucky she once knew still existed somewhere in that fractured mind. That part of the boy they had all fell for was still there, the boy that would cut off his hand before he used it on a woman, was still in there. She hoped, no she prayed that, that boy was already dead. Because, if not, and by some miracle he was able to fight his way free of the control other's had over him, she knew the knowledge of his actions would destroy him.

Elizabeth, Audrey, Gia, Nikolas, the girl in the boxcar, Sonny's guard, they were only the known and obvious victims. But they weren't the only ones, and in some respects they were the fortunate ones. Lucky's reign of terror had so many far-reaching consequences, it affected so many people, two of which were in the garden apartment of this very house.

Wrapping her arms around her waist she began to rock in the chair. She hadn't been able to look Taggert in the eye when he had made a request to sedate his mother. Seeing the grief, that Florence, and him, were feeling made her feel even worse. The fact that she hadn't known what Lucky was doing, wasn't important, what was important was the fact that her nephew was the one that was destroying these lives.

Lucas rolled over in his sleep, his hand opened and an X-Men comic book fell to the floor. Would he be the next casualty in the neverending Spencer/Cassadine war? Focusing on him in the dim light she was struck by his resemblance to the boy Lucky had once been. The boy, who had lived here for a short time with his parents when they first returned to Port Charles. A boy, with the pet spider, a giant pet spider, who had gotten loose one day and had destroyed her dinner party. A boy who had apologized so sincerely it was almost possible to ignore the laughter dancing in his eyes, and the teasing glint to his smile.

The first of the tears she had been holding in splashed on her hands, moving quickly she pulled a pillow from the bed and pressing her face in it, she wept bitterly for the boy she'd never see again.

****

~General Hospital~

Nikolas waited for the nurse to leave his room after checking his vitals to open his eyes. Sleep was impossible for him, even with the drugs they wanted him to take. If he closed his eyes, if he let the day end, then it would be true. Then Gia would be dead. He wanted to hold off the day for as long as he could.

Sitting up the room only spun slightly, ignoring that he reached in the drawer of his bedside table. He pulled out the shirt he had been wearing today, the shirt they had wanted to take from him. He hadn't allowed it and wouldn't, even though it was torn. Even though it was stained, with his blood, with Lucky's blood, with Gia's blood, he still needed it. Pressing the shirt to his nose he inhaled deeply, it still smelled like her, and he needed that.

****

~Brownstone~

Marcus Taggert eased the door closed and waited another moment, listening for movement on the other side of the door. Hearing none he finally moved down the short hall to the living room. After hours of sobbing, and railing against God, his mother had finally broken and fallen into a fitful drug-aided sleep. Asking Bobbie to sedate her had been easy, watching her in the apartment had been hell. He could all but taste the guilt rolling off of Bobbie, yet he hadn't cared. He hadn't felt a thing, and no other words had been said between them. He thought momentarily of the easy relationship he'd once had with his landlord and knew it was gone for good.

Walking into the empty room, it seemed more hollow then normal. His footsteps sounded harsh to his ear on the polished hardwood floor. The steps reminded him of another hardwood floor he'd been on earlier in the day. The one on which his sister had bled to death.

Shaking the thought and the memory away Marcus glanced at his watch and moved towards the fireplace. Eleanor a friend of his mother's from work would be here soon, once she was, he could get back to work. He could get back to finding Lucky Spencer and ending his reign of terror. Staring hard at the second hand on his watch he willed it to move faster, yet it seemed only to go slower.

Forcing his eyes from the watch, they had the misfortune of landing on the picture on the mantle. His hand shook as he picked the silver framed, autographed photo up. Rubbing a finger over the images under the glass he couldn't help but smile.

__

"Open it already Marcus, or this outfit will be out of style," Gia ordered, dropping on the couch beside him.

Loving to torment her, Marcus continued his slow and careful removal of the overly decorated wrapping paper. "I can reuse this."

Grumbling under her breath, Gia reached out and ripped at the paper, exposing the box underneath. "See how easy it is?" Rolling her eyes when he just stared at the box, she prodded him. "Open it."

"Whose birthday is this? Yours or mine?" He demanded, and seeing the threat of violence in her eyes, he decided to comply. 

"Well?" Gia asked after a minute. "Do you like it?"

Shaking his head in disbelief for a minute all he could do was stare. Wondering if what he was seeing was the truth, he finally reached in the box and pulled out the framed picture. "Is this real?"

"It better be I paid enough for it," Gia groused.

He couldn't quite keep the grin off his face when he studied the autographed photo of Mohammed Ali and George Foreman, which had been taken sometime during the famous Rumble in the Jungle. They were in their boxing trunks, and judging from the lack of bruises, it meant that it had been taken before the fight. "Where did you find this?"

"You can't believe what you can find on E-bay these days. So did I do good?"

Looking into her dancing eyes, and glowing face, he matched her grin with his own. "You did great." 

Gia threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. "Happy Birthday big brother."

Hugging her back, Marcus couldn't help but tease. "So what exactly is this going to cost me?"

Drawing back she smacked him in the head. "You need to get a new job, you're entirely too suspicious."

The shattering of the glass, drew Marcus from his memories. Glancing down at the photo, he watched a thin trail of blood work down the glass, obliterating the boxer's faces. Closing his eyes tightly he gripped the frame harder, and battled back the emotions threatening to overwhelm him. It wasn't time to lose it yet. He still had so much to do.

****

~Spencer House~

"Look Roy I need you to do your best. I've left word in all of our old ways and in the old places, but I don't know if it will be enough. I can't leave and look for him now, I can't leave Lucky, but someone needs to find Luke," Laura shoved some papers in her old friend's hands.

"Did he leave you any clue where he was heading this time?" Roy asked.

"I think Greece, but that's just a guess," Laura wasn't ready to talk about her fears over why Luke had left and where he had gone. She just wanted him back, and knew that Lucky needed him here. "I need you to find him."

"I'll leave today. I won't quit until I find him," Roy vowed moving towards the door.

"Thanks," she hugged him goodbye, before closing the door slowly behind him. Unwillingly the words that Stefan and Bobbie had hurled at her, reverberated in her ears. She couldn't believe them, she couldn't believe that her son was capable of this. And yet, a part of her was terrified that he had done them. Even more she was terrified that Luke had known something was wrong and hadn't told her.

Moving back in the room she opened the photo album on the table. Instantly she saw her son, he was covered with chocolate cake. He'd been 3 and had decided he'd rather wear his cake then eat it. Luke had tasted the cake she'd made and agreed with him, smearing some on his face as well. Try as she might she couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the men in her life covered in cake, they had charged her to invite her to play along, and in truth she hadn't tried very hard to get away. 

The laughter from that day seemed to echo in the house around her. "Please come home Luke. Please help me with this," Laura whispered. "I can't do it on my own."

****

~Yacht~

Moving stealthily but determinedly, he moved through the darkened salon. In spite of the unfamiliarity of the room, and the darkness, he had no trouble picking his way through the room without coming into contact with anything. Reaching the narrow hallway he looked right and then left, unsure of which way to go first.

Inhaling deeply a smell he recognized drifted towards him from the right, gripping his gun he moved in that direction. He hesitated at the partially opened door, a faint light was coming from somewhere in the room, yet he could see no movement. Pressing lightly on the door, it swung silently open. He spotted the woman instantly she was lying half in the bed, half on the floor. Seeing the blonde hair his eyes moved on scanning the rest of the room.

Seeing no one he entered the room and quickly checked the closets and bathroom. Again finding no one he hesitated in the bathroom doorway. The light spilled out from behind him and the shadow he cast fell on the woman on the bed. Closing the distance between them he took in the blood dripping from the bedspread and pooling on the floor.

Feeling nothing at all he reached out with a gloved hand and checked for her pulse. Helena stirred against his hand and moaned. Moving quickly he pulled her up so she was resting against the pillows again and watched while she forced her eyes open.

"H-help me," moaning she tried to focus on the person in front of her.

"Why should I?" Jason leaned closer to the old woman. "Why don't I just help you die instead?"


	16. Some Hard Truths

****

Babble: Is it just me or does anyone else believe that his board is down more than it is up? I've been trying to post this since yesterday oh well.

I have a question for my readers. You know how I write by now, the history I bring in, the characters I play with. I was wonder if anyone would be interested in reading a story I've written called Quagmire. It's a variation on the current stalker storyline on GH. It's 10 parts long, and I'm finishing the tenth part this weekend. I was curious to see if anyone would be curious here or not. So please let me know.

And thanks for reading.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

****

Her Greatest Mistake

Some Hard Truths

Chapter 15

****

~Yacht~

"Why don't I just help you die instead?"

The man's voice sounded as if it was coming from a great distance. It was muted, hollow sounding to her ears and it was difficult to understand the words. Yet she still tried too, she concentrated on the words, trying to force through the haze that clouded her mind. Helena struggled to focus on the man in front of her, she loathed depending on anybody but she had no choice. "Help me."

"No," Jason answered simply.

The features of the man shimmered and shifted in her mind, gradually coalescing into the form of the person she hated the most in the world. "Luke," she hissed bitterly, "you're too late I've already won."

Recognizing the dementia the woman was in for what it was, the final moments of her life, Jason made no effort to correct her assumption. "How did you win? You're dying."

"Maybe," with the familiar feeling of hate driving her, Helena felt no pain at the moment and she settled back against the pillows to study her foe. "But I still defeated you. I took from you the one person you loved the most in the world. The person you needed more than even your Laura. I took your precious son and made him mine. He may still be alive, but I own him, and I always will. There's nothing you can do to change that. That is how I defeated you."

Jason had never taken pleasure in killing people or in watching them die. In fact until the last few months, the only lives he had taken were in self-defense. He'd learned, in the last few months, how to stalk, to hunt, to kill people deliberately. He'd done his job, and in his cold, precise, methodical, even economical way he was very good at it. Like most things he'd discovered in his work, he had an undeveloped skill for killing. But he had always made it as quick and painless as possible, a humane death, so to speak. He'd found he could live with that easier.

But now watching the old woman choke on her words, and seeing the evil glint of satisfaction in her eyes, even while the blood drained from her body, he found he wanted her pain to go on and on. He didn't want her death to be mercifully quick, he wanted her to suffer, he wanted her to feel the pain he felt. He wanted her in pain and in torment for a long time to come. The want of that scared him a little bit. His senses were screaming that the glee he was taking from watching her die could lead him to a place he didn't want to go.

And yet he made no move towards the telephone.

What sort of man would he be when this nightmare was over? Would he even recognize himself in the mirror? Questions he never asked himself ricocheted through his brain and were easily dismissed, in the face of all the damage that this woman had set in motion.

"You never thought I would beat you, did you Luke? You were so confident in your Spencer pride," Helena coughed up some blood, intent on crushing her foe she went on unmindful of the rapidly forming stains on her silk sheets. "But even with all of your Spencer pride, and street smarts, you never even saw this coming. You thought your son was cured, that I had been defeated," she laughed until she began to cough again. "Foolish, foolish man, Lucky has been mine since that day in April of 1999."

"Why did you have him abuse Elizabeth?" Jason pitched his voice low.

"It was so much fun to toy with you Luke. You were so desperate to have your son back, you believed that he was well, because of that you were so easy to manipulate," Helena absently wiped her bloody hand on the stained sheets. "I brought Lucky back to you alive, I kept him alive, all for you. I wanted you to watch your precious son turn into a monster and know that you could never save him." Smiling at the thought she didn't notice the room grow dimmer. "You actually believed you could save him, that was so amusing to me. There was never enough Lucky to save."

Clenching his hands to refrain from snapping her fragile neck, Jason worked on bottling back his anger. "Why Elizabeth?"

Helena weakly waved her hand as if waving off a pesky fly. "She annoyed me. And she was a perfect test to my control over Lucky. The day he hit her, and she took it, I knew I owned them both. The idiotic girl just took…."

His hands were reaching out to her neck, the need to stop her words gripped him by the throat. They fell back to the mattress when he saw her blank, open-eyed stare. A faint trickle of blood had escaped from the corner of her mouth, but it was the only part of her that was still moving. Helena Cassadine was dead. She was dead and he hadn't laid a hand on her.

Why did he feel so cheated because of that?

The need to destroy, to wreck things, to shake her until she came back to life just so he could kill her himself was surging through him and he quickly left the bed, heading for the door before he gave into the temptation. The cold-blooded control he was known to have, was fading fast and right now even Taggert's taunt of _Anger Boy_ didn't even cover the rage he was feeling.

Falling heavily against the wall just outside her stateroom, he sucked in air trying to regain some semblance of control. Finally his head cleared enough that he pushed away from the wall and began to walk away from the heady scent of the blood emanating from the stateroom behind him. He needed to plan his next move. Like the hunter he had turned into his head came up, and his eyes went hard when he heard the faint sound of music drifting down the hall. The gun once more in his hand he went searching for the source.

Andreas had just opened his second bottle of champagne and poured a glass when he realized he wasn't alone. Raising his head to face the mirror in front of him, his eyes met the ice-cold eyes of the man standing in the doorway behind him. Years of living with the fear and terror that Helena brought out in everybody around her, made him so numb that he calmly finished pouring his drink. "Would you care for one?" He asked casually holding up the bottle. "It's a very good year."

Recognizing Helena's lackey, Jason moved farther inside the room and raised his gun.

"Perhaps not," Andreas shrugged and set the bottle down before picking up his glass. "All the more for me."

Jason couldn't help but be a little surprised at the other man's casual manner. That surprise had him merely watching when Andreas moved further away and settled himself in a chair so he was facing the door and Jason.

"If you've come to kill Helena, it's too late. Lucky Spencer beat you to it."

Nodding slightly Jason wasn't surprised to have his suspicions confirmed. It seemed the puppet had finally turned on its master. "You just let her die?"

"So did you," ignoring the gun being pointed in his direction, Andreas felt compelled to state the obvious.

"She was dead long before I got here, she just had a few breaths left."

"The mistress hated to be deprived of anything, she always was stubborn like that," Andreas muttered sipping at his drink. "A toast to the death of the wicked witch."

"And her faithful servant," Jason finished the toast before raising his gun again.

****

~Penthouse 4~

Carly really didn't want to do this. She already regretted opening her mouth in the first place. At this point she would give anything to go back to five minutes ago, but knew it was impossible. Besides a part of her, granted it was a very small part of her, but a part of her nonetheless knew she had to finish this. The small part was normally easy to ignore, but it wouldn't be shut up this time.

"The longer you wait the worse it will be," Sonny reminded her.

Knowing he was right she shifted on the couch until she could see his eyes. God she loved his eyes. "About 2 ½ weeks ago Elizabeth came by the penthouse." 

The rush of words came out so fast they seemed to blend together. And even though his face never changed she knew he had registered her words when his eyes went flat. Even though she had expected his reaction the withdrawal she saw in his eyes still hurt.

"What happened?"

"Apparently she wanted to see you. I was getting off the elevator the same time she was waiting to get on it," she smiled slightly. "You know me, you can guess what I did then."

"You probably went off on her accusing her of all sorts of things."

Flushing guiltily Carly didn't try to deny instead she got to her feet and began to pace. "She didn't answer me back, which was strange. She just moved past me and got on the elevator."

Watching her prowl Sonny was struck by the sense of waiting for the other shoe to drop. He didn't want it to drop because he had a feeling that when it landed it was going to be brutal. So he didn't prompt her this time, he merely waited to see if she would go on, on her own, and a few minutes later she did.

"Cal was on the door that day, I asked, no I demanded to know why Elizabeth was here, he said she had come looking for you," trailing off she took a hard breath before continuing on. "When she found out you were gone, she left him a letter to give to you."

When the shoe finally dropped it landed with the force of a bomb. And even though he had halfway been expecting something like this, and in spite of the earliness of the hour, he still moved towards the wet bar and a drink.

Watching his stiff movements and reading the guilt that was already weighing him down, Carly couldn't quite help the snap in her voice when she continued on. "I demanded that he give me the letter, and he refused, at least at first." The image of Cal's crooked buck-toothed grin came to her and brought the pain and tears. His death was so recent and unexpected she hadn't dealt with the fact she would never see that grin again.

The silence of the penthouse seemed to roar in her ears, until she shook the image away and forced herself to go on. "Cal refused to hand it over until I reminded him of the time that he placed a bet on a horse race when Michael was with him. I pointed out what would happen if you ever found out he had done that."

Resisting the urge to smash something, he set his now empty glass on the bar and faced his wife. "What did you do with the letter? Did you destroy it?"

Knowing not to be fooled by the cool tone of his voice, Carly quickly shook her head. "I wanted to, God how I wanted too. I even had the lighter in my hand, but I stopped. I knew that if I destroyed the letter, you would find out. You always seemed to find out. So I put it in your desk."

"I never saw it Carly," he reminded her sharply.

"You would've eventually," Carly hedged her eyes drifting away.

"Where is it?"

"The second drawer down on the left," she admitted finally.

Turning bleary eyes on the desk, he was reminded of how she had presented it to him. It was a desk she had bought for him, with locks on it, in an effort to show he could trust her. "You mean the drawer with most of the donation requests that I only look in about once every three months?"

Each word had gotten progressively sharper while his voice had gotten softer until it was almost a whisper. She hadn't realized that a whisper could cut a person until that instant. "Yes."

Moving to the desk he began to search the drawer, until he found a plain white envelope with no postage, and his name written in black in the center. Seeing the proof in his hands, he sunk wearily on the chair. "Carly…"

"I didn't know what was going on. You know that. The thought that she wanted help because Lucky was abusing her never even crossed my mind. How could it?" Carly cried out trying desperately to reach her husband. "Lucky has always been considered a hero to most of the people in this town. Or the best thing since sliced bread, hell you even thought he could do no wrong, so how was I supposed to know he was hitting her?" When he didn't answer her a tiny spark of anger began to work through her.

"I knew Cal would keep quiet. So after I put the letter in the drawer, I confronted Elizabeth. I'd heard through the grapevine at work that her and Lucky hadn't been so lovey-dovey lately, so I figured that she was going to try to use you to help her, the way she used Jason last time." Moving closer to him the anger in her voice made it rise. "Whether you want to admit it or not, she used Jason the last time he was home. She used him and she hurt him."

"It wasn't your business."

"Wrong," Carly snapped. "Jason is my business because he is my best friend, he's my family, and he always will be. Just because he was willing to get his heart trampled on by her again and again, it didn't mean I was willing to let it happen again if I could stop it. I wanted to protect him."

Refusing to be drawn into the fight he knew she wanted, Sonny focused on what else she had said. "What happened when you confronted her?"

Carly paced away again running a hand through her tangled hair. "It was strange, I found her at Kelly's and went off on her for coming to you. Basically I accused her of using Jason last time he was home to keep Lucky in line, and now she was going after you," her eyes dimmed in memory. "She didn't fight back like normal."

"You and Jason always seemed to think she needed protecting from me. That Hurricane Carly would just run over her, if you didn't come to her rescue, but you were wrong. She would get in my face and give it back to me. As much as I hated it, I didn't scare her, or intimidate her the way I wanted too," she turned to focus on Sonny again. "At least not until that day."

"What happened?"

"She wouldn't look me in the eye, she looked everywhere but at me. What I remember the most is the way she was standing. Knees apart, stomach held in, sort of like she was trying to protect herself from a blow." Uncomfortable with the realization Carly hurried on. "She asked, no she begged me, not to say anything about her visit to Lucky. Of course for me that's all it took to convince me that I was right. So I went off on her again, accusing her of trying to get to you because Jason was out of town, and she just took it, she didn't even try to deny it. She just stood there almost like she was frozen, until…"

"Until what?" Sonny watched the guilt his wife felt manifest into frenzied pacing. "Finish it Carly, no more secrets, no more lies."

"Suddenly Lucky was there," the admission stilled her movement. "I don't know how much he had heard, but when Elizabeth saw him, her eyes flashed with what I thought was guilt, but now I know what it really was. It was fear."

****

~Quartermaine Mansion~

Dr. Monica Quartermaine, carefully folded a T-shirt before placing it in her daughter's bag, she was pleased to note that her hand shook only slightly. It was lucky for her that she didn't have any surgeries scheduled for today.

Lucky.

Her hands stilled at the remembrance of the word. Would she ever be able to say the word, without thinking of the name of the boy who had hurt her daughter so badly? The boy who had hurt so many people? The boy who had once roamed this house, who was now a murderer?

"Monica I wish you'd reconsider this." Dr. Alan Quartermaine spoke from the doorway. "She's our daughter, she should be home with us."

"And how do you suggest we get her to come home Alan?" Monica sighed wearily, they'd been having this argument for hours now. They'd been arguing ever since she'd come back from seeing her daughter's bruised face, and had told him what had happened to her. "She's over 18 Alan, we can't drag her home. She doesn't want to be here, at least not right now."

"But she's hurt, and she's all alone." Alan pleaded unconsciously rubbing his hands together in a nervous tic he had developed during his days on drugs. "She's our daughter, she needs to be here with her family."

"She doesn't want to be with her family and quite frankly there are times when I can't blame her." Zipping the bag closed Monica shifted it on the bed so she could sit down. "Alan she's not alone, Zander is with her. Sonny was there, and even Carly seemed to be more interested in helping Emily than in fighting and that's saying a lot for Carly."

"But that's not good enough, don't you see that?" Alan exploded. Fear for his daughter made him snap, and his target was, as usual, his wife. "I can't even see her if she is there."

"Alan," Monica stood and caught his hands before he could move away. "It was hard for her to even look at me, and that's not because of the pain its because of the guilt she's feeling. She thinks it's her fault because she didn't figure out what Lucky was doing in time to stop him."

"That's all the more reason for her to come home, to be around the people who love and need her."

"She doesn't want to face you," Monica blurted out without thinking and seeing the dismay on his face she hurried on, trying to explain. "When Paige died she accepted you the quickest and the easiest. And even though you've let her down over the years, she still doesn't want to disappoint you. You're the only father that she can remember, she doesn't want you to see her hurt or her pain."

"Doesn't she know that there is nothing that she could ever say or do that would make me turn my back on her? Especially not something like this. Lucky _attacked_ her, Lucky _shot_ Audrey, Lucky _killed_ Elizabeth and Gia, and that other child. Emily didn't do any of these things it was all Lucky."

"Maybe that's part of the reason she doesn't want to see you," Monica whispered. "She knows that you can't help but blame Lucky for everything, and yet to her, he's still her friend, she doesn't want to hear you call him a monster."

Alan drew back in horror and shook his head.

"I can only repeat what Emily told me. She isn't up to seeing you or the rest of the family." Monica hugged him sadly then moved towards the door. "I'm going to get some food before I bring the clothes to the penthouse."

Moving to follow his wife, Alan couldn't help but pause by the bed when a framed photograph on the table caught his eyes. His hand trembled slightly when he picked it up and looked at the now alien faces staring back at him. It was a photo that was taken the first Christmas that Emily had spent in the mansion with them. Her, A.J. and Jason were on the floor, playing with the train set. Her smile was one of the few genuine smiles that Emily had given that sad day, the first Christmas without her mother. Her mother's death was still fresh in her mind, yet she had loved playing with the trains with her new brothers. Judging from the smiles on the boy's faces, they had loved it as much as her.

Sighing loudly he traced the photo with his finger, now none of his kids were in the house. His beloved son Jason was the first to go, he had died just a few weeks later, and another, much colder, and angrier Jason had taken his place.

A.J.'s continued dance with the bottle had turned him into someone that he had trouble recognizing. Their relationship had improved when Alan had gone through his own battle with addiction. But A.J.'s hold on sobriety was so tenuous that it strained every relationship he had. When he'd lost Michael, that fragile hold had shattered, and when the angry and looking to blame A.J. had returned, so too had all the arguing.

Emily had only recently moved home because of Monica's cancer scare, and she still spent more time out of the house then in it. And it seemed that even though her oldest friend had just hurt her in a horrible way, she would still rather be in another's house then her own. The fact that she had chosen to recuperate in the house of a man who had once stolen his son Jason, and had taken his grandson away as well, only made the fact that much harder to swallow. His face slid into a familiar picture of contempt as he thought of Sonny Corinthos.

He wasn't going to let Sonny take away his daughter. He may have lost Jason, and now Michael to the man, but he wasn't going to lose Emily. Even as he made the vow to himself, his eye fell on the smiling picture of his children again. With a sad sigh he realized that, that Christmas was the last joyous one that this house had seen. "What has happened to this family?" Wearily he put the photo down and walked out of the room.

Lucky waited another couple of minutes before crawling out from under the bed. His hand throbbed, from where he had bitten it to keep himself quiet. Listening to their conversation he had wanted to scream out that it wasn't true. That it couldn't be true, he would never hurt Emily, he loved her, she was his best friend. And he certainly would never kill or shoot anyone. It wasn't true.

And yet.

And yet, he could smell the dried blood mixed with his perspiration that was coming off of his clothes. Now that he was free of the bed, he could see the blood on his hands, on his clothes, and he was terrified at how it had gotten there. His eye fell on Emily's floor length mirror and he was soon transfixed by the image he saw there.

He looked wild there was no other word to describe himself. His clothes were torn and dirty, but more importantly they were covered with blood, a lot of blood. He had bruises and cuts on his face and had no idea where they had come from. He could see a knife tucked in his waistband and even though he didn't recognize it, he knew it would be bloody, and he knew it would feel familiar in his hand.

But it was his eyes that scared him the most. They were the eyes of a stranger. A dim roar began building in his ears, it sounded like muffled screams, the screams of people begging for him to stop. The sounds built in his mind while he stared at his eyes that were wild, a little half mad, and unfocused. Shaking his head at what he saw, the noise seemed to grow louder and louder in his head, until it stopped suddenly with what sounded like the memory of a gunshot. Pulling his eyes away from his reflection he gripped the hilt of the knife in his hand and followed Alan out the door.

****

~P.C.P.D.~

He wasn't going to look. 

No matter what, he wasn't going to look. He had decided not to look hours earlier, long before the file had actually landed on his desk. So when he first saw the deep, brown, manila folder on his desk Taggert ignored it.

There were limits to even what he could handle, and he wasn't so far gone that he didn't know that. The file would be beyond his limits. So for hours he had stuck to his guns and ignored the file, choosing instead to review his notes, Garcia's notes, the latest findings of the other officers, all in an attempt to ignore the manila folder that was lying in his inbox.

Reaching for his coffee, he took a glance at his watch, wondering where Garcia was. Instead of the hours, that he had thought had passed, he was dismayed to realize only 15 minutes had passed since he had entered the station and spotted the folder in his inbox. The realization of the time made him look again at the folder, and it seemed to mock him somehow. He knew that what was in it would cause as much damage as a bomb would cause, yet he couldn't bring himself to look away.

Taggert had no desire to remember his sister in any other way then her smiling at him while she teased him. Yet every time he blinked all he saw was her beautiful still face as he zipped the body bag closed, hiding her from view. That image would haunt him for the rest of his life, but he could handle that. 

He would handle that.

But the images in the file were ones he knew he couldn't, handle, they were also ones he would never be able to forget … if he opened the file. So that's why he wasn't going to. "I won't," the voice came out as a whisper and the words were proven to be a lie as he immediately reached for the file.

Gripping the file so tightly in his hands that the edges curled up in his suddenly sweaty palms, Taggert raged a war with himself. The logical part of him knew that he didn't need to see his sister's death photos or even worse her autopsy photos. But there was still that nagging little voice in his head that was telling him to open the file.

"Be smart Marcus."

Jolted Taggert looked up into the concerned face of his friend before looking back at the file in his hands. "I wasn't going to look," he muttered defensively setting the file back on the desk. The instant it left his hands he was able to breathe again.

Mac Scorpio quickly picked up the file and set it on another desk, out of the Lieutenant's sight. "Anything new?"

"So far it's been real quiet. There are no new bodies, or beatings to report. Unfortunately for us that could mean that he has gone to ground somewhere. If he has, there's a good chance we won't be able to track him."

"You think he left town?"

Taggert hesitated for a long minute before shaking his head in the negative. "No. This is his home, it's his hunting ground. He feels comfortable here, he won't leave it. I think he's holed up somewhere."

Nodding wearily Mac leaned heavily on the other desk. "I hate to say I agree with you but I do. I don't think he's done yet."

"Garcia has a theory, but then again when doesn't he?" Taggert mused. "I have to admit this one sounds interesting. Garcia thinks that because Spencer has been getting more and more violent, a little crazier with each kill, because of that he will soon be out of control. If he has any control left that is, it will soon be gone."

"And once that happens?"

Taggert shrugged. "He becomes nothing but an animal that is hunting human prey."

Mac couldn't help but notice that Taggert was refusing to say Lucky's name. He wondered if it was by chance or by choice. It seemed that Taggert was already beginning to think of Lucky as an animal. And for most people it was easier to kill an animal then it was a human. Shaking off the disquieting thoughts he focused on his job. "So who's left? Lucky already went after Elizabeth, Emily, Audrey, Nikolas, G…" he faltered then forced himself to go on. "Who else would Lucky be apt to target? Luke's out of town again. Bobbie's at the Brownstone, I hear Laura's back in town but I haven't seen her yet."

Only half-listening to his boss Taggert got to his feet and moved away to study the timeline board again. Call it a hunch but he didn't think that Lucky would strike close to home this time, at least not yet. It would be too predictable for him to go after Laura or Bobbie right now, and even in his madness Lucky wasn't predictable. But he still felt Lucky was somewhere that was familiar to him, someplace he felt safe.

"What's going on?" A sleepy-eyed Alex Garcia smothered another yawn as he moved further into the bullpen towards his partner and boss.

"We're trying to figure out where Lucky will hit next." Mac answered when Taggert didn't.

"Good question." Garcia absently wondered if an IV of coffee fed directly into his veins would make him more alert, than just drinking the sludge that the office called coffee. "I doubt it will be the morgue. They only have one break-in a night."

"Someone broke in the morgue?" Mac shook his head in slight disbelief. "Why? Halloween isn't for several months."

"I know," Garcia rubbed his eyes, trying to open them. "The attendant called a little before midnight, to say there was a guy there, apparently he knocked her over in his haste to get out."

"Was there anything or anyone missing?"

"No. The file cabinets were forced open but only one drawer had been disturbed. You'll never guess which one."

"The W drawer for Elizabeth Webber," Taggert stated loudly. He kept his back to the others, his eyes focused on a name on the board.

Garcia looked over in surprise and nodded even though Taggert couldn't see it. "That's right. We got a partial description of the guy from Michele, the attendant, from the sounds of the description the guy sounds like…"

"Jason Morgan," again Taggert finished the sentence for Garcia.

"How the hell do you know that?" Garcia asked crankily.

"Because he'd have to see her, just like I had to see Gia, just like my mother had to see Gia. Until he sees her, until he knows the truth without a doubt, he can still hope. He can still pretend that her death was some horrible mistake, that she's not really dead. That all of this hell and agony is just some mistake or a joke," his voice was low and compelling.

"You see until you see proof positive with your own eyes, you still hold out hope, you can't help it. He needed to see her, to kill that hope. He had to kill that hope in order to do what he had to do next. Sort of like I tried to look at Gia's autopsy photos to prepare myself for the next step."

"What's the next step?" Mac asked quietly.

"To hunt Lucky down and kill him. As long as Elizabeth was missing, as long as there was a chance that she would be found alive somewhere, he had hope. Because of that, even though he's hunting Lucky he wouldn't kill him until he found her. Now, however, there is no reason for Lucky to live. The hunt isn't to find anymore, he's now hunting Lucky to kill him, nothing more." Taggert turned to face his friends then, and the cold smile of anticipation on his face alarmed them both.

"But Morgan isn't alone in his hunt anymore. As much as Morgan may want to find Spencer, I want to find Spencer even more. So it's a race against time, to see who catches Spencer first." Would he be the one to kill Lucky, or would it be Jason Morgan?

"If Jason does find him, Lucky won't make it to trial you know that," Garcia reminded him. "Hell Lucky will probably never even be found, or arrested, if Jason's hunt produces him first, Morgan will just make him disappear forever."

"What are you saying?" Laura Spencer stepped into the squad room, making her presence known. "You sound as if you want Jason to find him, even though you know he will kill Lucky if he does."

Taggert turned around his eyes and gaze were ice cold and focused on her. "You seem surprised."

Laura took a step away from the venom she could see in the other man's eyes. "You want him dead too."

Taggert's gaze never wavered but he didn't answer her.

"You're talking about hunting and killing my little boy," Laura cried out desperately. "Don't you understand that he's sick? He needs help, he needs therapy, he doesn't need to be hunted down like some animal."

"It seems to me that there is only one animal in this situation." Taggert shot back and felt nothing as the older woman's lip began to quiver and her already teary eyes began to overflow.

"Laura," Mac stepped in front of Taggert before the woman had a chance to respond. "The police are making every effort to find Lucky."

"What about finding Jason?" Laura gripped Mac's arms in desperation. "He's hunting my child, you have to stop him."

"Jason Morgan hasn't broken any laws. I don't have the power to arrest him."

In stunned disbelief Mac and Garcia turned to look at Taggert when the other man kept speaking.

"I have enough warnings on my work jacket that I'm not going to add to that by going after Corinthos or Morgan again. You see I'm not allowed to arrest either one of them, unless…" he paused and thought about it. "Well I guess the only way I may be able to arrest one of them is if they shot someone in front of me. Of course that is only a guess on my part."

Garcia didn't know what was scarier, the words coming out of Taggert's mouth or the half smile on his friend's face. Neither was appropriate for what had just happened and to put it frankly both scared the shit out of him. His eyes narrowed in speculation when the smirk vanished from Taggert's face and he turned expressionless.

Horrified, for a moment all Laura could do was gape at Taggert. "You are talking about Jason Morgan hunting my son. Jason Morgan, Sonny's enforcer, is hunting my son, you think he will kill him if he finds him, and you are treating this like it's some big joke," she screeched loudly. "How can you be so cruel?"

"Cruel? You have a weird definition of what's cruel lady," Taggert edged closer in spite of Mac's presence.

"Marcus," Garcia tried to stop his friend but Taggert brushed him off.

"You see what's cruel to me is telling a woman that her only daughter has been shot and killed by someone she thought was a friend. What's cruel to me is telling a woman barely hanging on in a hospital bed that the hope she has been clinging too is worthless because her beloved granddaughter is in fact dead. That she was…"

"Taggert," Mac tried to interrupt.

"…strangled to death after being beaten by someone she loved. You see that's what cruel to me Miz Spencer," Taggert drawled slowly. He felt nothing even as the woman paled. "Or maybe cruel is going out of town on a business trip while your son goes on a killing spree, and when you return blaming everyone else but the monster who is responsible, her son."

"Laura!" Mac stepped forward and took her arm. "Let's go to my office."

Laura looked down at her throbbing hand then back up into the expressionless face of the man she'd just slapped. She could see the reddening mark on his right cheek yet he made no move to touch it. Slowly she looked around at the now silent squad room and saw the curious stares of the onlookers. "You…you don't understand."

Taggert moved quickly and caught everyone off guard. "Then explain it to Ms. Spencer, explain this to me," he demanded shoving the now open manila folder in her hands.

Her eyes couldn't help but be drawn to the glossy photo pinned to the inside cover. The file and its contents of papers and pictures spilled on the floor when she began to gag.

"Taggert," Mac snapped. "Come on Laura, let's get out of here."

With a twist of her shoulders Laura slipped free of his hold. "Lucky's just sick."

"And Gia's dead," Taggert reminded her coldly. "So which one is more cruel?"

"No," Laura sparked back to life when Mac tried to herd her away. "I'll do it myself. If the police won't help me, won't help my son, then I will do it myself." With that she turned and ran from the squad room.

Mac called after her yet made no attempt to follow. With a loud sigh he finally turned to face his Lieutenant. "Marcus that was uncalled for."

Taggert blinked once, twice, then turned towards the duty Sergeant. "Do we have the final autopsy results on Elizabeth Webber yet?"

"On your desk."

Nodding, Taggert moved to his desk oblivious to the worried looks he was receiving from his colleagues and friends.

"Jesus he's snapping," Mac muttered when Garcia got in range.

Garcia shrugged. "Did he lie?"

Mac opened his mouth and then shut it quickly when he realized what Taggert had said was nothing but the truth.

****

~Penthouse~

Now that she had started Carly couldn't have stopped the words from coming if her life depended on it. "I left after giving Lucky my take on the situation and when he came back to work later on," swallowing hard she brought up the memory that had been haunting her. "He said he fell rollerblading back to work, that's how he explained it."

"Explained what?" Sonny asked quietly gently rubbing away the tear that had fallen unnoticed down her cheek.

"The cuts and bruised on his knuckles. His hands were so stiff, he could barely manipulate the camera at the shoot that day." Now knowing the reason for the damage, Carly felt sick to her stomach.

Covering his eyes with his hands he turned away from her. The darkness brought back memories of his own. Memories of bruises on Deke's knuckles after he had "corrected" Adela or had disciplined him. 

__

"Let me out of here. Don't hurt her."

"Don't shut down on me." Carly gripped his arm and turned him around, pulling him out of the memory. "Get mad, throw things, but don't shut me out."

__

"Don't hurt her."

Blinking the words away Sonny stepped back from her. "Back off Carly."

"No I won't back off," she yelled. "I messed up, by not giving you the letter or telling you she called, I know that and I'm sorry for it, but I didn't know what was going on. You know that."

"I need some air," Sonny brushed past her and picked up his coat.

"Sonny…"

"Carly I can't hear anything else. Not right now." He couldn't explain to her how the memories were getting messed up in his mind. He knew they were talking about Elizabeth, but she kept turning into his mother, and Lucky into Deke, with everything he heard. He couldn't help but remember all the times that Adela and him had paid the price when well-meaning friends had commented on the bruises on Deke's hands.

"No you are not walking out on me over this." Carly moved quickly until she was blocking the door. "I admitted I messed up, but so did Elizabeth. She could have told me. She could have said I need to see Sonny because Lucky is beating me."

Sonny frowned and took a step back but Carly closed the distance.

"Even if no one in this town believed her. Even if everyone called her a liar to her face, myself included, you never would have." Carly knew he was listening when he stopped backing away. "You would have, if not believed, you would have still helped her no matter what because that is who you are. You would have helped her because Jason would have wanted you too. But more importantly you would have helped her because of your past. If there was the slightest chance that Lucky was hurting her you would have tried to save her…"

Carly kept talking even when he moved past her and opened the door. "You would have tried to save her, because you weren't able to save your mother. You know that, I know that, Elizabeth should have known that. She should have said something."

Sonny hesitated for a long moment then moved out of the door into the hall, pausing for an instant by the guard. "My family goes nowhere alone." The guard nodded and Sonny moved on.

"God Sonny," Carly whispered as the guard silently closed the door. "I'm sorry for what I did, but you know I'm right about Elizabeth."

****

~Quartermaine Mansion~

"I just don't see how you can let Emily stay in the home of that thug," Edward Quartermaine bellowed for the third time in five minutes. "He is nothing but a common criminal, and that darling girl should never be allowed within 5 feet of him."

Monica sighed wearily and moved to the sterling silver tea service. It was mornings like this she wished Lila hadn't banned the presence of coffee in the mansion. Sometimes tea just didn't have enough kick.

"Are you listening to me Monica?" Edward demanded. "You call yourself a mother. It's an absolute disgrace, leaving your injured daughter to recuperate in…"

"Oh put a sock in it Edward," Lila Quartermaine's tone was quiet but her words were backed with the quiet steel that she used to control the family, and her husband immediately turned to look at her.

"You see, now you've upset Lila with your behavior," Edward tried again.

"Father stop berating Monica," Alan interrupted the tirade. "As Emily and now Monica is so fond of reminding me Emily is over 18 now and we can't force her to come home."

"Like we could force her when she was under 18," Ned Ashton reminded the others and earned himself a glare from all of them.

"I will not allow you to browbeat Monica anymore," Lila informed her husband. "Mr. Corinthos' home is where Emily wants to be at the moment and we shall respect her decision, not attack her for it," turning her head she focused on the ever-present Reginald. "I would like to go to my room now."

"Certainly Lila," Reginald moved quickly pausing only long enough to give a look of warning at Edward.

"Lila you can't mean this," Edward wheedled.

"Edward I do mean it. We will give Emily the space she wants," holing up her hand she stopped the wheelchair's advance long enough to give her husband another reminder. "I mean it, if you go to see Emily before she calls you, you will find my door permanently locked."

Reginald shut the door on Edward's sputtering reply before pushing the chair towards the elevator in the back hall.

"Reginald have Archer bring the car around," Lila spoke after careful perusal of the empty hall. "And get me the package I had you store on the top shelf of my closet last week."

"What are you up too?" Reginald squatted by her chair. He was her normal partner in crime and judging from the gleam in her bright blue eyes she had a plan, but for once he was in the dark.

"I have a delivery to make and I need you to stay here and make sure that no one knows I've left."

"Lila…"

"Reginald if you disappear too, the family will know I'm gone and I don't want that. Now get me my package. I'll head for the kitchen, Archer should be there for his midmorning flirt with cook, he can drive me," Lila pushed the button and her motorized wheelchair took off with a lurch.

Reginald could only shake his head as she rolled away, Lila never missed a trick.

Lucky waited until the hall was empty before crawling out from under the divan and moving towards the now closed study door. With a final look around he opened the door slightly, being careful to stay out of sight he went back to his eavesdropping.

"I don't care what Lila says, Emily should be here," Edward blustered defiantly but his voice was a lot quieter then it had been.

"Maybe she can't stay here," the redhead who had been quiet finally spoke up. She wasn't surprised to find two pairs of now hostile eyes focused on her along with curious and wary ones.

"What do you mean by that?" Edward demanded.

"Yes Skye, why don't you enlighten me?" Monica asked with barely concealed disdain.

The elegant Skye Chandler Quartermaine rose gracefully from the couch and moved to get more orange juice. "From what I've heard Lucky Spencer used to have free run of this house. How many times has he or Elizabeth been in this house? Been in Emily's room?"

She paused for an answer but the normally vocal Quartermaine's were strangely silent.

"Maybe the idea of being surrounded by the memories, the ghosts of happier times, she had here with them is something that Emily can't handle right now." Her eyes dimmed in sadness. "It's hard dealing with ghosts, believe me I know."

The enormity of the situation finally began to sink in and Edward moved towards the French doors to look at his wife's beloved roses. "I can't help but remember how many times I would turn around and there would be Lucky or that Eckert boy running through the house with Emily. And all three of them were chasing that overgrown fleabag of Spencer's."

"They were also chasing Annabelle and Raoul," AJ Quartermaine reminded his Grandfather. "Whatever happened to Raoul?"

~*~*~

Lucky closed his eyes, the memory of the sad looking brown-eyed girl came to him. The memory of her laughter, that sounded rusty because she hadn't used it in awhile, finally coming out of the girl, when Foster had knocked her over. It had only grown when his mutt Foster and the purebred Annabelle had an offspring named Raoul. Edward had almost had a heart attack.

The smile slid from his face when the sad eyes of Emily Quartermaine changed into eyes filled with fear and pain. Both of which he caused her.

__

"Lucky stop you're killing her."

Shaking Emily's voice out of his head, his hand tightened on his knife and he focused on the room again.

~*~*~

"I can remember seeing Lucky and Elizabeth at the New Year's Eve man auction that Katherine arranged a few years ago. Before all this madness started." Edward focused on his newly returned Granddaughter Skye and his eyes sparkled in memory. "Elizabeth was my date yet she only had eyes for young Spencer. She must have seen his mother in him. Laura was the worst secretary I ever had, but there is such a light inside of her, or at least there was until Luke Spencer got his hands on her…"

"Grandfather," Ned cutoff the tirade.

"Young Spencer couldn't take his eyes off her either, I remember…"

~*~*~

__

"You look beautiful," Lucky whispered to the vision in front of him.

"You think so?" Elizabeth turned around slowly, showing off her new gown.

"I'll have the most beautiful date there."

Lucky blinked the memory away and another took its place. Elizabeth lying on the ground underneath him, his hands were around her neck, and he was choking her. He could hear Emily yelling at him to stop and tried to pull him free, but he had kept squeezing until the light in Elizabeth's beautiful eyes had dimmed and her struggles had stopped.

Lucky let out a strangled moan shaking his head in denial, yet the picture wouldn't leave his mind.

~*~*~

"They reminded me so much of Lila and myself that night. They were so in love, the future was waiting for them, the world was theirs." Edward sighed and blinked back the unexpected rush of tears. "And now look at them Elizabeth dead by Lucky's hand. It just doesn't make sense."

Recognizing his pain Monica stepped behind her infuriating father-in-law and rested her hand on his shoulder. "No it doesn't Edward."

"As much as I hate to admit it, Emily is probably safer at the penthouse," A.J. spoke up quietly.

"What?"

"If Skye is right, she would be haunted by the memories of Lucky and Elizabeth in this house. I doubt she has any memories of them at Sonny's house. And you have to admit that his security is better then ours. Hell Grandfather you couldn't even keep his dog off the property how will you keep Lucky out if he wants to come in?" A.J. cut off his protest before the old man could even form it.

****

~Penthouse~

"I'm sorry my orders are specific, no one is allowed in."

"I need to see Sonny," Laura hissed. "And I'm not leaving until I see him, so you might as well open the damn door."

"What the hell is going on?" Carly demanded jerking the door open her expression falling when she recognized the visitor. "Laura what do you want?"

"Carly I need to see Sonny or better yet Jason," Laura took advantage of the open door and moved into the penthouse.

With a roll of her eyes, Carly slammed the door closed before turning on her aunt by marriage that disliked her as much as she disliked Laura. "Sonny's not here Laura, so why don't you leave."

"Carly please I need to talk to Jason," Laura had been reduced to begging her business partner but she didn't care. She had to save her son.

"I can't help you there Laura, I don't even know if Jason is in town," Carly replied casually seemingly unconcerned.

"Don't give me that, I know he's in town and I need to talk to him now," Laura snapped.

"Why Laura? What could you possibly have to say to my brother?" Emily asked from the stairs.

Turning at the sound of the newcomer's voice Laura's face lost all color when she saw the bruises on Emily's face. "Emily what happened to you?"

Continuing down the stairs, for the first time in hours she didn't feel her injuries at the moment, in fact she didn't feel anything at the moment. She had been almost asleep when she'd heard Laura's voice. "Answer me. What could you possibly have to say to my brother?"

Laura saw the coldness in Emily's eyes and it confused her. "It's about Lucky."

"So now you want to talk about Lucky?" Emily snorted in disbelief. "A little late don't you think?"

"What?" Laura glanced at Carly who had moved closer to Emily.

"You know we all could have had a big talk about Lucky, but you wouldn't allow that would you? You just had to pretend that nothing was wrong with Lucky, even though you knew he was wrong, you knew it," Emily accused.

"Emily you don't understand what's going on here," Laura tried to explain.

"I don't understand? That's rich," Emily took a breath. "You know there was a time when I would have done anything to have you and Luke as my parents. When I couldn't stand to be around the Quartermaine's you made me feel so welcome, like I was a part of your family. But I never was, not really. I should have known you lied. You lie to everyone. When the truth came out about Nikolas, a child you abandoned, I looked past it. When you faked your death and let everyone, including me, think you were gone, I eventually got over it. I got over it because you were the great earth mother figure Laura Spencer, and you had so much love to give."

The tears were forming in her eyes but Emily dashed them away to concentrate on Laura. "I watched you almost destroy yourself when Lucky died, then slowly rebuild when he came back. I knew how much you loved your family, that you do anything for them, sacrifice anyone for Lucky."

"Sacrifice?"

"I mean you walked away from your son for years, to be with Luke. You fought to convince everyone that Lucky was just fine. You even let everyone think it was safe to be around Lucky, when you knew he was sick."

"Helena…"

"To hell with Helena, I blame you and Luke. I blame your damned Spencer pride," Emily staggered closer. "Take a good look at what your pride does. This is what your beloved son did to me."

Laura flinched when she saw the bruises up close and personal, the tears falling rapidly from her eyes. "You have to know…"

"Save it or better yet tell it to Gia's mother and brother, or Cal's family, or the girl that your son tortured to death, they might still be at the morgue, you should be able to catch them there if you hurry," Emily started to pant as the anger rolled off of her. "Or go see your forgotten son Nikolas, the one you claim to love so much, the one who is lying in a hospital bed because of Lucky. The one who just lost the woman he loved because of Lucky."

"Emily you need to calm down and breathe," Carly cautioned the girl.

Putting her hand on her side trying to stem the pain that was radiating from there, Emily couldn't stop she had to finish this. "Or go tell Mrs. Hardy, if she's alive that is. Or how about Elizabeth?" She sucked in a deep breath. "Oh that's right you can't tell her because I watched Lucky choke her to death."

Laura staggered back at her words.

"Emily let's sit down," Carly tried again.

Brushing off Carly's concern she advanced on a woman she had once loved. "You know what? I don't blame Lucky for this. I blame you. I blame Luke, and I blame Helena. We are all paying the price because of some twisted, stupid war that began before Lucky, Nikolas, Elizabeth, and I were even born. And because of that war, Lucky was turned into a monster. And you, because of your arrogant belief that you could handle anything because you knew your son's heart, or Luke's arrogance because he loves the fucking game so much, were all paying. You didn't even warn us. You didn't even tell us that Lucky was in trouble. You just let us be around him when you knew he wasn't right. Christ you even left town," Emily bent over suddenly in pain.

"Emily," Carly quickly grabbed Emily. "Get out Laura."

Moving forward in concern Laura couldn't help but try to explain. "Please Emily I'm just trying to protect…"

"Bull," Emily fought past the pain and faced her. "Elizabeth was the one who tried to protect us, even if she did go about it in the worst way possible. Even though he beat her, she still tried to protect me, Nikolas, Lulu, even Gia. She never let us alone with Lucky did you know that? While you've been gone and oblivious she's been the one protecting us. I even got mad at her for it."

Even reeling from Emily's accusations Laura couldn't help but try to defend her son. "He's sick, you can't punish for being sick."

"You know I hope Jason does find Lucky. I hope he does kill him." Emily admitted tonelessly.

Laura gasped.

"I don't want Jason to kill him out of vengeance but to save him. Because if my friend Lucky ever learned what he did it would kill him. My friend Lucky couldn't live with what he's done. My friend Lucky died in a fire. A fire that was set years ago by his parents and Helena. I only hope Jason can end his torment." Her breath was coming in shallow pants, each one causing more and more pain to her damaged ribs. Finally she collapsed back against Carly. "She didn't even warn us."

"Pete," Carly yelled.

Pete threw the door open.

"Get her out of here, and don't let her back in," Carly gestured to Laura.

Laura was frozen in place, the weight of Emily's accusations hitting her. The knowledge that her son had caused so much damage, finally sinking in when she heard the truth come out of the mouth of his oldest friend. "I'm sorry."

"Tell that to Elizabeth the girl you once said you loved like a daughter," Emily shot back viciously before closing her eyes and slipping into unconsciousness.

"Pete." Carly snapped.

Shrugging off Pete's hand Laura headed for the door. "I'll leave, help Emily." She turned back in time to see the large man gently pick Emily up like she was a broken doll and head up the stairs.

Carly stalked over to the door. "You have always looked down on me, you've always considered yourself better then me. But I can live with the damage I caused, can you? God I pity Lulu she's the real victim in this," with that Carly slammed the door in Laura's face.

Moving like a zombie Laura headed for the elevator. Images of her son dancing in her head. The day he was born, his first smile, his first word, his first step, his first day of school, holding Lulu, playing with Foster, in the hospital recovering from being shot, dancing with Luke at the Nurse's Ball, the look on his face when he saw Elizabeth.

__

"My friend Lucky couldn't live with what he's done."

"Helena." She whispered as the elevator doors closed. It was time she paid.

****

~Quartermaine Mansion~

Lucky staggered out of the bathroom, his hand covering his mouth. The sick feeling was gradually passing but the memories weren't. Since hearing the Quartermaine's talk all he could see was himself hitting people, hurting people.

"No it wasn't me," Lucky whispered moving towards the mirror in Emily's room again. "I'm not a monster."

Shaking his head he jolted when the mirror seemed to shift its image. Instead of seeing himself he saw Elizabeth. Her neck was livid red with bruises, marked by fingers, his fingers. Blood was trickling from the corner of her mouth and she had bruises on her face. Her eyes were half-open and unfocused.

He could only whimper when he saw himself, when he remembered, wrapping her in a red blanket, hiding those eyes from view. "Oh God, it's true."

"I'll bring it down Dr. Quartermaine," Reginald called out before pushing the door open. He had only taken a step when he saw a wild looking Lucky Spencer. His eyes dropped to the very large and bloody knife that the boy was gripping in his hand. "Oh boy."


	17. Blood

****

Babble: Apparently my last chapter didn't go over very well. Hopefully you will like this one a little more and leave me a note.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~**~~*~*~*

****

Her Greatest Mistake

Blood

Chapter 16

****

~P.C.P.D.~

"This doesn't make any sense." Taggert flipped through the pages of the report again. "It just doesn't make sense."

"What doesn't?" Garcia looked curiously up from his own reading.

"From what Emily Quartermaine told us Elizabeth was planning on confronting Lucky," Taggert began slowly.

"Right."

"She finished her shift and left Kelly's. The next place we can positively I.D. her is near the Harborview at around 3:00, but after that nothing."

"What are you getting at?" Garcia asked.

"According to this autopsy report, she had a partially undigested meal in her stomach. A meal consisting of," he scanned the report again. "A chicken sandwich, coleslaw, and some dessert."

Garcia pulled hard at his neck trying to work the kinks out. "Not really seeing the importance of this."

"When did she eat? Where did she eat? If she was planning on confronting the person who had been abusing her, how could she eat?" Taggert asked. "It just doesn't make sense."

Garcia frowned in puzzlement, Taggert was right that was odd. His expression cleared when he realized something. "She might have eaten something at the hospital."

"The hospital?" It was Taggert's turn to look puzzled and he turned to study the section of the chalkboard that outlined Elizabeth's confirmed movements the day she died. "When was she at the hospital?"

"I don't know if she was, at least not for sure, I'm still looking," Garcia admitted. "But the Harborview is near GH."

"Why would she go to the hospital?"

Belatedly Garcia realized that he'd neglected to pass on a key piece of information to his partner. "I found out last night that Lucky has been seeing Kevin Collins. I was thinking that maybe Elizabeth went to see him to get his opinion on how to confront Lucky."

"Dr. Collins was treating Lucky?" Taggert asked icily.

"Yes."

"For what?" He demanded.

"Collins wouldn't tell me. He gave me the usual spiel about doctor/patient confidentiality," Garcia explained and watched his partner's expression turn even colder.

"Are you telling me he knew that Lucky was out of control and he didn't report it?" Taggert asked shortly.

"I didn't say that," Garcia corrected him quickly. "I told you I don't know why Collins was treating him."

"What does your gut say?" Taggert pressed.

Garcia thought back to the guilty expression that Kevin had been wearing the night before. He also recalled the way the doctor had flinched when Bobbie went off on him, but didn't try to defend himself. "He knew something."

"That sonofabitch," Taggert snapped.

"Who is a sonofabitch?" Mac asked.

"Your friend, Dr. Collins. He knew Lucky was out of control and didn't do a damn thing about it," Taggert all but snarled the words.

"Kevin knew?" Mac repeated in disbelief and took a seat at a nearby desk. "I don't believe that."

"He was treating Lucky, so he knew something," Garcia explained. "Unfortunately for us the only way we'll find out what he knew is if we get a subpoena." 

"Yet another way the red tape of society will slow us down," Taggert groused. "Some days I miss the eye for an eye brand of justice of the old west."

"Vigilantism is never a good alternative," Mac reminded him. "You know how many innocent people were killed in mob justice?"

"Yeah well at least things got done back then," Taggert shot back.

Mac was about to retort, but when he saw Garcia's shake of the head he reluctantly changed tracks. "I know Kevin, I'm sure he'll help if he can." He defended his best friend automatically, yet he couldn't help but remember Kevin's own battles with violent demons and how that had turned out.

"I wouldn't bet on it."

"I doubt Kevin thought Lucky was capable of this. If he had any idea that Lucky was violent, Kevin would have come forward, ethics or not," Mac contended.

Garcia nodded in partial agreement. "I can see what you mean about not believing that Lucky could be capable of something like this. I can't help but remember the cocky but in control kid who used to come in here with Elizabeth. When she came in and reported her rape, he sat next to her the whole time. He let her speak, but I could tell that he was her rock that day." He tried to shake the memory away, that boy didn't seem to exist anymore, he needed to remember that. "It's hard for me to believe what he turned into just a few years later."

"I used to warn her about Morgan," Taggert chimed in and for once the derision that was normally in his voice when discussing Jason Morgan was absent. "I don't know how many times I told her that if she kept hanging around him she'd end up hurt, maybe even dead."

"You had a legitimate point Marcus." Mac reminded him. Taggert's words triggered his own memories of similar frustrating conversations he'd had with Robin over the very same man.

"I know," Taggert nodded. "But at least if she had been with Morgan it would have been a quick, clean kill. It would have probably even been relatively painless, a stray bullet, or a bomb then nothingness, but with Lucky," he shuddered. "Lucky tortured her for god knows how long before he finally killed her. Tell me which way would you like to die, quick or a little bit every day?"

Neither man seemed willing to answer his question. Both were uncomfortable with the all too accurate picture that Taggert was painting in their minds.

"It seems unreal how much Lucky changed since his return," Mac murmured finally to fill the silence.

"I know what you mean. Originally I was happy to find out Lucky was alive, but now, after all this." Garcia shook his head and barely stopped himself from saying that it would've been better if Lucky had died in the fire.

"Speaking of Lucky being alive. I've had the mistake with his fingerprints fixed, so now all computer records, including NCIC are updated to reflect that Lucky Spencer is not only alive, but he is to be considered armed, and dangerous, and wanted in the connection with 4 murders," Mac informed them. "Those records should have been changed when Lucky was returned thanks to Helena, but as usual someone fell asleep at the wheel, and now the department is paying for it again." He was getting real tired of the perpetual egg on the face the PCPD seemed to wear.

Garcia wisely kept his comments to himself. There was no sense in pissing off his boss, if he could help it.

"Helena," Taggert muttered under his breath.

"What about her?" Mac asked.

"What if Lucky went to see Helena?" Taggert asked.

"Why would he do that?"

"Think about all the changes in Lucky. They all coincide with his return from the dead. And who brought Lucky back from the dead? Helena, a woman who never does anything unless, there is something in it for her. We already know she did something to Lucky once before, who is to say she ever stopped?" Taggert reasoned aloud.

"You mean the supposed brainwashing claim that Luke made against her?" Mac asked scornfully.

Responding to both the words and the tone Taggert faced his boss coldly. "You'd rather believe that Lucky just woke up one day and decided he'd like to torture and kill people? You'd rather the evilness be in his blood?"

Mac shook his head at the blunt question.

"Helena's a cold piece of work, I'll admit that. I wouldn't put anything past her. Especially not after what happened with Katherine Belle," Garcia tried to head off a confrontation between his friends.

"Are you saying you think Lucky started killing because Helena told him too?" Mac asked.

"I didn't say that." Taggert felt like he was working a giant jigsaw puzzle. All he had to do was make this one piece fit and the whole thing would come together. "Helena may not have told him to kill, but there is still a chance that she does have some influence over him. Maybe he went to see her, because he felt he had too. Hell she may even be helping him or controlling him like Luke accused her of."

"You're assuming that there is enough Lucky to control," Mac pointed out.

"Maybe there isn't, at least not anymore, but would that stop her from trying, or from Lucky from going to her?" Taggert asked. "It's a scenario that we haven't developed yet, I just think we need to check her out."

"When I was growing up a neighbor of mine had a dog. It was some kind of mutt, no one knew the breed, we only knew he was big and mean. The owner used to beat the dog to keep him that way, he kept him chained all the time, barely fed the animal. It was trained to be an attack dog," Garcia began his story simply. "I tried to free it once. I unchained it and tried to get it to run away, but even when I threw a rock at it, the damn dog still refused to go. The dog was loyal to the owner that damn near beat him to death everyday."

The memory was going to leave a bitter taste in his mouth, he knew it, but felt compelled to go on anyway. "In spite of the abuse the dog received, he loved his master, or at least was loyal to him. But sooner or later, every thing changes. One day the dog just snapped, and turned on the owner. The dog took off half of the guy's face before it was finally shot down," Garcia finished with a grimace.

Disgusted by the imagery Mac shuddered as well.

Taggert leaned forward in his chair, an almost eager expression on his face. "You think Lucky has turned on his master?"

"I don't know," shrugging Garcia got to his feet. "I just agree with you that Helena is a lead we need to check out."

Liking the lead more and more, and once again full of purpose Taggert got to his feet and headed for the door. Just outside the swinging gate he stopped and turned to his partner. "You know what they do to rabid dogs don't you?" Taggert continued on with a hint of glee in his otherwise dead eyes. "They put them down."

****

~Quartermaine's~

"Lucky what are you doing here?" Reginald finally found his voice.

Lucky focused on the man but didn't really see him, instead he saw a bruised and battered Elizabeth, she seemed to be accusing him. "It wasn't me."

Knowing that he needed to play along with Lucky in order to buy time, and very aware of the knife in the boy's hand, Reginald nodded. "I believe you."

"You do?" Lucky blinked away the mental image of Elizabeth and advanced on Reginald.

It took everything he had not to turn tail and run, but Reginald held his position as Lucky advanced. There was a chance that Lila had returned, and as long as there was a chance he knew he couldn't let Lucky past him. There were so many people in the house, so many potential victims, for the madness he saw in Lucky's eyes, that even though he wasn't normally a brave person, Reginald felt he had to protect them.

He was now in the position of protecting Edward Quartermaine, he never thought he'd see that day. Of course if Edward were hurt, Lila would be hurt as well and he didn't want that, still it was a strange position to be in. If only he could get the knife away from lucky. If he could do that then he could run for help. His focus dropped to the knife and was dismayed to find it still firmly clutched in the boy's hand.

"I see their faces in my mind and I just don't understand why," Lucky was saying. "They look like they're afraid of me and I don't know why. I'd never hurt anyone. But Emily and Elizabeth, especially Elizabeth looks so scared, I'd never hurt them," his voice got weaker until he was whispering. "But sometimes I think I did."

The dismay Reginald was feeling quickly turned into horror when Lucky shifted the knife until the blade was next to his thigh. Reginald watched in fascinated horror as Lucky twisted the blade into his thigh. The tip of the blade embedded itself in Lucky's thigh until a deep rich shade of red began to bloom on his pants. Even as Lucky began to twist the knife, his expression never changed from the mask of confusion. It seemed as if Lucky wasn't even aware of what he was doing.

Feeling nauseated at the sight of Lucky's actions Reginald swallowed hard. This was not a good sign.

"I remember wrapping Elizabeth up in her blanket," his free hand rubbed at his throbbing temples. "Why would I do that? It isn't cold, it's hot. But I wrapped her anyway, and I put it around her head. Why would I put it around her head?" The images his fractured mind was receiving were jumbled and out of sequence. It was difficult for him to hold on to a cohesive thought.

As difficult as it was for him to think, to process things, there were still some things he knew he needed to do. Lucky knew he needed the knife in his hand. So as much as he wanted to let the knife go, he knew he couldn't. Another thing he knew was that something had happened to him, and Elizabeth. But he wasn't sure if he was to blame for it. The Quartermaine's seemed to think so, but they also thought he'd hurt Emily so they had to be lying. He needed some honest answers and he needed them now.

"Are you feeling okay?" Reginald asked solicitously. "You're not looking to well. I think I should get one of the doctor's Quartermaine up here to check you out," he took a step back.

"No," Lucky hissed angrily. "I don't need any doctors. I just need answers." The thought of a doctor scared him so deeply that the throbbing in his head increased.

"What do you want to…" Reginald faltered when Lucky removed the knife from his thigh swallowing nervously he went on. "What do you want to know?"

"What have you done with Elizabeth? You're hiding her from me, why are you doing that?" Lucky's tenuous grasp with reality was slipping and he was sliding back into the madness that was centered on a need to find Elizabeth. He knew if he could find her, then everything would be okay.

"I don't know where Elizabeth is." Reginald stalled and took another step back. Either his imagination was working overtime, or the knife in the boy's hand grew in size as Lucky moved closer.

"You're lying," Lucky yelled.

Reginald was relieved to hear the yell. Someone had to have heard that. It was only a matter of time before someone came to check on him. Or maybe even Dr. Quartermaine would come looking for the bag he was supposed to be retrieving. He just needed to stall. "I'm not lying Lucky I haven't seen Elizabeth."

"You haven't?" Lucky drooped in disappointment. "I've been looking everywhere I can for her. I just know I have to meet her, and I can almost remember where," his eyes grew glassy again. "Sometimes I can hear her voice. But by the time I get to her, she's gone. Why does she run away from me?"

"Maybe she's afraid of you." Reginald answered without thinking.

Lucky closed the distance between them in two quick steps and angrily brought the knife to Reginald's face. "Why do you say that? She's not afraid of me. She knows I'd never hurt her. I saved her. I always save her and I always will. I saved her from Tom, she knows that."

Unnerved by the look in those dead blue eyes staring at him, Reginald barely heard the words, he was too busy trying to undo his blunder. "I just meant," he trailed off when Lucky pressed the tip of the knife against his chin. "Look at yourself Lucky," he managed finally. "You look like hell. You probably spooked her."

Lucky's face was a picture of confusion as he processed Reginald's words, finally he stepped back from the terrified butler and looked down at his bloody and damaged clothes. Reginald was right, he did look bad. Elizabeth would be afraid for him if she saw him like this.

Seeing Lucky's nod Reginald couldn't help but feel relieved, he'd managed to dodge another bullet. "I bet if you get cleaned up the next time you hear Elizabeth, she will still be there when you get there."

"You think so?" Lucky asked eagerly.

"Definitely," he worked up a smile and blotted at the spot of blood on his chin. "Why don't you use Emily's shower to get cleaned up? AJ left some of his clothes here, and you're close enough in size I'm sure they'll fit you."

Lucky brought a shaky hand to his hair and pulled it down when he found it matted with blood. "Maybe I should shower."

Nodding, Reginald gestured to the door behind Lucky. The sooner Lucky went inside the sooner he could get help.

Lucky took two steps towards the bathroom before faltering. A feeling, that was almost buried, flickered to life, and that instinct was warning him that he shouldn't trust Reginald. The voices that had been haunting him began to wake in his mind again and he unconsciously tightened his grip on the knife and turned around.

Not liking the expression on Lucky's face Reginald couldn't help but step back. "You don't want to keep Elizabeth waiting do you?"

Cocking his head Lucky studied the man with a cold eye. "I won't keep her waiting and I will find her. You won't be able to hide her from me forever Helena."

Reginald blanched, things had just gone from bad to worse. Where the hell was everybody? The house was packed, so why wasn't anyone checking on him?

"Do you think I don't realize what it is you've done to me Helena?" Lucky demanded of the mocking woman. "You tried to turn me into a monster. Your voice keeps telling me to hurt Elizabeth, to hurt everyone."

"Ignore that voice Lucky," Reginald cried out in desperation. "Just put it on mute and ignore it."

Lucky rubbed his temples and nodded vaguely. The mocking Helena had vanished and in her place was the dying Helena. Fascination had him focusing on the knife in his hand. He could remember what it had felt like to stab the old woman. It was a feeling he liked. Horrified at the thought Lucky gagged.

Reginald risked a glance at the wide open door a few feet away. He could make it, he used to run track in school.

"I didn't enjoy it," Lucky whimpered. "I didn't want too, I don't want to." The whispers in his mind grew again and along with the whispers came images of blood and violence. He didn't understand why a part of him enjoyed the violence. He didn't like pain, he didn't like fighting, he was a good boy, so why were these images haunting him? Why did he have all of those people's blood on his hands.

Reginald had a feeling that whatever Lucky didn't want to do, he didn't want Lucky to do it either, so he kept quiet and shifted closer to Emily's night table and the vase that was on it. The vase was expensive, but he thought breaking it on Lucky's head would be well worth the expense.

"Elizabeth." Lucky cried out suddenly, startling Reginald who froze in place. "Where did she go? She was just here."

"She probably didn't want to see you like this. You haven't cleaned up yet."

Frowning Lucky looked down at his clothes. "You're right I need to clean up." The words triggered a memory.

__

"Look at what you made me do Elizabeth." Lucky complained to the woman who was moaning in pain at his feet. "I didn't want to do this. Do you know how hard it's going to be to clean this up?"

Elizabeth whimpered and that triggered another feeling of anger inside of him. Reaching down he tangled his hand in her hair and yanked hard pulling her to her knees. "All you had to do was keep your promise Elizabeth. If you would have done that we wouldn't be here right now."

"Lucky stop it," she gasped out through her tears.

His anger passing almost as quickly as it had come Lucky eased his grip in her hair and squatted beside her. "It's okay Elizabeth," he brought her head to his shoulder and began to pet her hair. "I'm sorry you were hurt Elizabeth. But everything is fine now."

"I'm sorry I hurt you Elizabeth," Lucky whispered tears streaming down his face.

Taking advantage of the lost look on Lucky's face Reginald picked up the vase. Shifting his grip he kept it hidden behind his back and stepped closer to Lucky. "You don't want to hurt anyone else do you Lucky?"

"No," Lucky sobbed. "No more."

__

"No more Lucky," Emily begged, curling into a ball as the blows kept coming.

"It's all your fault." Lucky yelled and kicked again.

"I'm sorry Emily," Lucky whispered. The vague memory of promising to bring her ribs crossed his mind and his already sickened stomach turned.

At the mention of her name Reginald stalled. The cool head he'd been operating with began to cloud in anger. Lucky had hurt Emily. Next to Lila, Reginald loved her the most. He took another step and prepared to swing while Lucky was still lost.

"Reginald where the devil are you?" A blustering Edward Quartermaine appeared in the doorway.

Lucky reacted instantly, awareness shot in his eyes and he shifted instinctively. The result was disastrous. Instead of the vase coming down on Lucky's head it broke on his shoulder instead.

Wounded, angry, afraid, and confused Lucky lashed out just like an animal would. He feinted at Reginald with the knife and Reginald immediately jumped back, then Lucky headed for the door where Edward seemed to be frozen in place.

Reacting without thought Reginald caught Lucky from behind yanking the boy around. "Run!" He screamed at Edward before concentrating on the fight of his life. The strength Lucky had, he soon discovered, wasn't natural. It was a strength based on madness and it didn't take him long to realize that even though he was larger than the boy he was going to lose.

Reginald reared back when Lucky made a desperate lunge with the knife. The blade swept the black vest he always wore sending some buttons flying. Caught off-guard Reginald staggered back on his butt, he tried to get to his feet but Lucky kept up the attack.

Flailing wildly with his feet Reginald tried to keep the boy away. His hand came down on a piece of broken glass and he gripped the jagged piece in his hand. Lucky yelled and jumped towards him. Reginald automatically brought his hands up in self-defense. Lucky howled in pain when the glass embedded in his arm. Reacting madly he lashed out with the knife catching Reginald in the side.

Feeling the blade pierce his side, the adrenaline he'd been using to fight Lucky fled, and Reginald fell back on the ground with a moan, his hands moving to his side, and the knife that was jutting out there. His vision grayed immediately, it was hard for him to breathe, and he knew in that instant that he was going to die.

****

~Yacht~

Andreas couldn't help but feel stunned. The gun being pointed at him didn't seem real to him, somehow. He'd spent most of his life living in a perpetual state of fear, waiting for Helena to kill him. He'd always known that Helena would kill him one day. Knowing she was dying had caused him to relax his guard. So to suddenly be faced with his own death after all, was shocking and unbelievable to him. "W-why?"

"Why not?" Jason countered.

"I didn't do anything to you," Andreas began desperately. "I didn't do anything."

"You let her die," Jason said simply.

"Who?" He asked in confusion. "Helena? You let her die too."

"Not Helena," Jason explained coldly. "Elizabeth, you let Lucky kill her."

"I didn't let him kill her. I didn't know he was going to kill her, no one did. Helena was mad that he had killed her."

The words stilled Jason. "Why?"

"She didn't expect Lucky to break so soon. She still had plans for him." Hoping to keep Jason focused on that Andreas began babbling. "Helena got really mad when she heard what happened. She ordered me to find and kill Lucky when she heard he attacked Nikolas."

Jason grimaced at the name. He didn't care about Nikolas. He cared about what had been done to Elizabeth. What Helena and her flunky had allowed to happen. His hand tightened on the gun.

"I felt bad for her, I really did. I didn't like what Lucky was doing to her, or the fact Helena encouraged it."

"She told him to hit her?" Jason asked roughly.

"No Helena only suggested things. Lucky was so confused he doesn't know which end is up. She's controlled him ever since she brought him back. He's never been free of her, he just never knew it. Every time he hurt Elizabeth, she gained more control over him, and another part of Lucky Spencer died. When he killed Elizabeth, the person Lucky Spencer used to be died, forever," Andreas explained.

The words seemed to kill what mercy Jason had left and he leveled the gun at Andreas' head.

"Don't please," Andreas did something he hadn't done since he was 5 years old, he begged. "I didn't have a choice but to do what Helena wanted. Look at the wall behind you."

Not taking his eyes off the man Jason shook his head.

"Look." Desperate Andreas moved past Jason to a decorative sheath that was hung on the wall. Without thinking twice, he pulled the paper thin, ivory handled blade from the sheath. "Do you see this?"

Moving quickly Jason took the weapon away from Andreas.

"Helena used this when she slit my brother's throat. She made me keep it on my wall as a reminder of what would happen if I ever disobeyed her," he explained bitterly. My first lesson on her cruelty came when I was 10 and she killed my parents, because my father had the nerve to turn her job offer down. She took my brother, me, and my little sister in, to show her generosity, but it was nothing more than showing her control."

"Why didn't you kill her? You had to have the opportunity."

"I wanted too. You have no idea how much I wanted to," his voice grew sad. "I haven't seen my sister in 5 years. I don't even know if she's still alive. But if I tried to kill her and failed, Helena would kill her. She used her to control me, don't you understand? If it had just been me, I would have killed her years ago, but I don't know where my sister is."

"It sounds like he had a good reason to follow orders," Johnny commented from the doorway where he'd been listening. "Don't you think that's a better reason than just following orders because of money? It seems to me that he's suffered enough."

"He knew what Lucky was doing to Elizabeth and he didn't help her." Jason kept the gun trained on Andreas.

"Elizabeth didn't help herself," Johnny shot back bluntly and as a result found the gun pointed at him.

"Are you saying she asked for this?" Jason demanded of his friend.

"No of course not," Johnny answered quickly and calmly. Knowing he had to diffuse the situation quickly warred with his need to make Jason hear him. "Until the night she died, Elizabeth never asked for help."

"Are you forgetting about the 18 times she tried to call me?" Jason asked coldly.

Shifting uncomfortably and still staring down the barrel of the gun Johnny shook his head. "The point is she didn't try to get help from anyone else. You can't force someone to get help Jason."

"But he didn't even offer her any help," Jason retorted, shifting the gun back on Andreas.

"If Helena was controlling you by holding Emily, what would have done?" Johnny asked.

"I would have killed her," he answered simply. He knew the only way to truly stop a person was to kill them. If you didn't stop the threat immediately it would only grow. As hard as it would have been for him, he would have killed Helena and took the chance on finding Emily.

"Not everybody is as strong as you Jason," Johnny gestured to Andreas. "He obviously wasn't."

The smell of blood and death was working its way down the hall, coloring the taste of everything in the opulent room. It was only a matter of time before the police showed up. Even the PCPD would eventually realize that the Cassadine yacht was a reasonable place to look for Lucky. Johnny was disgusted that it had taken him so many hours to figure that point out himself. His relief over finally finding Jason would be short lived if the cops found them here with Helena's body. Andreas was on his own.

"Look kill him or don't kill him. Just make up your mind, because were running out of time," Johnny said finally checking his watch. "It's up to you."

Andreas paled at the words and the hammer of the gun being cocked.

****

~Quartermaine's~

"Lucky," Edward Quartermaine bellowed sharply freezing Lucky in his tracks.

The sharp sound of his name broke through the veil of anger and Lucky sat back on his haunches in confusion.

"Get off of him this instant." Edward phrased the order as if he were ordering the boy to get his feet off the coffee table.

Obeying the tone automatically Lucky got to his feet, leaving the knife in Reginald's side.

Edward was surprised with the boys easy acquiescence but didn't let it show. "I want you to … to," he faltered. What should he do with the boy?"

The hesitation was enough to break the control he had over Lucky. Blinking hard Lucky focused on his surroundings again. Someone's moan caught his attention and he focused on the floor. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw Reginald. Why was Reginald on the floor? They'd been talking, the answer came to him in horrified realization when he recognized the knife in Reginald's side as the one he had been carrying in his hand.

"Edward what is all the yelling about?" A tired looking Monica appeared in the doorway behind her father-in-law.

"Dr. Quartermaine," Lucky managed her name. "I didn't mean it."

Confused Monica's gaze dropped to Reginald when he moaned. "God Lucky what did you do?"

Lucky looked down at the blood on his hands. He always had blood on his hands now. Keening in horror and desperation Lucky charged for the window, he was out of it and on the tree before Monica and Edward even took a step. Monica headed directly for Reginald, her voice raised as she yelled for assistance.

Edward moved toward the window and shut it firmly, making sure to lock it. He surveyed the ground hoping to see Lucky's body sprawled at the base because he'd fallen in his haste. But Lucky wasn't there. A flash of color caught his eyes and he focused on it just in time to see Lucky disappear into the woods that bordered the tennis courts and lake.

"Skye get my bag. AJ you better check the house and make sure no one else is hurt." Monica kept the orders coming as she checked Reginald's pulse.

The redhead flew away from the doorway, AJ was only a step behind her. Alan appeared in the door and quickly moved to his wife's side, pausing long enough to pull a quilt off of it before taking position on Reginald's other side. "What can I do?"

Monica gestured to the knife and the brief spotting of blood that was darkening Reginald's vest. "What do you think?"

Alan hadn't been a surgeon in years but he was still a doctor, and he knew the lack of blood on the surface wasn't a good sign. "Is he bleeding out the back?"

"We need to roll him," Monica declared. "On my count, one, two, three." On three they rolled Reginald on his side and the butler let out a scream of pain before dropping into unconsciousness again. "There's no blood pooling back here," she nodded and they eased Reginald back down. "Sorry Reginald," she patted his hand softly.

"Here Monica." An out of breath Skye set a bag next to her. "I called for an ambulance."

"Good," Monica rummaged in the bag. "Call the police as well, tell them Lucky Spencer just left here."

"Lucky did this?" Alan gasped in horror. His eyes took in the blood in his daughter's rooms. A room that he'd wanted Emily home in. If he'd had his way it would be Emily lying here before him, and not Reginald. The thought of that paralyzed him.

"Focus Alan," Monica ordered. "I think we should leave the knife in. The lack of blood tells me the knife punctured some vital organs, if we try to remove it," she shook her head. "We can't risk anymore damage. Do you agree?" She focused on him when he didn't respond. "Alan do you agree?" She repeated sharply.

Shaking himself out of his daze Alan nodded. "I'll check on mother."

Before Monica could stop him Alan was up and out of the room. Her mind was wrenched into the past. The memory of a dark, snowy night outside of Luke's when Alan had been frozen, while Nikolas had struggled to breathe in front of him. Jason had ended up saving Nikolas while Alan had hid. Later on she'd found out Alan had been high and that's why he hadn't stepped up. But now she wasn't so sure. It seemed if Alan knew the victim he froze up, and that wasn't good for a doctor.

Reginald's moan and sudden movement signaled his wakefulness and Monica ignored her concerns over her husband and focused on her patient. "Edward I need your help."

"Of course," Edward obediently moved closer. The sight of Reginald moaning in pain soon proved to be too much. "Can't you give him anything for the pain?"

"I don't have anything strong enough, and before we do a full workup, it's too dangerous to give him anything," Monica answered briskly. "I need you to help me hold him down, he shouldn't move."

"Can't you at least take the knife out?" Edward asked.

"If I take it out here, he'll bleed to death before the ambulance arrives," she explained shortly then saw the concern in the aged eyes watching her. "I know it hurt's him, but leaving it in could save his life."

Edward nodded and pressed down on Reginald's shoulders when he began to roll again. When Reginald settled, Edward acted on instinct and clasped one of Reginald's hands between his. "You're going to be fine young man. Monica won't let anything happen to you."

Reginald blinked trying to clear the pain from his mind, but it was impossible. "I'm dying right?" He managed when he saw the ghastly smile Edward was giving him.

"No you're not dying," Edward answered sharply. "Your father, Jennings, would be most disappointed in you if you left only after a few years of employ."

"Eight years," Reginald corrected automatically before coughing. "Lucky?"

"He's gone," Monica reassured him.

"Grandmother's not here." A frantic AJ announced from the door.

"What?" Edward immediately lost all color.

"She," Reginald gripped his hand getting Edward's attention. "She's running an errand with Archer."

"Reginald I need you to stay awake for me," Monica ordered when Reginald's eyes began to close and his pulse started to slow. "Reginald."

"Now you listen to me Reginald," Edward snapped. "You will open your eyes and do everything Monica tells you to do. You will be just fine as long as you do that."

Reginald's eyes drifted open. "Don't tell me you care."

"Of course I don't care." The cantankerous old man retorted with a tear in his eye and tightened his hold on the hand. "If you die Lila will never forgive me. She'll find some reason to blame me and her door will never be open to me again."

Reginald managed a weak smile. "The truth at last," he muttered before passing out.

****

~Penthouse~

Carly felt like she was going insane. The quietness of the penthouse was eerily similar to a tomb, and she didn't like that comparison. It was a sad day when she realized she'd take Michael's loud and teary histrionics over the quietness of the dark rooms. Michael had not been pleased to be told he was stuck inside the penthouse yet again. The day was beautiful and he'd already been upset that he'd missed the fireworks the night before.

So his screams and tears had echoed in the penthouse for several long and frustrating minutes, until she'd been happy that he'd fallen asleep. But here she was less than an hour later, and she'd prefer his screams to the quiet.

Growing up in South Florida Carly had developed an intense hatred of any temperature over 80 degrees much less 95 and humid. But she buried that disdain and moved out on the balcony. Even sweltering heat was a welcome change. Shading her eyes against the sun her gaze drifted down from the horizon. Somewhere in the city there was a killer on the loose.

She couldn't help but flinch at the blunt realization that the killer in question was her relative. It was true that her and Lucky had never been close, but he was still her blood. Was it bad blood? Did bad blood make Lucky snap the way he had? Was that it or was there more? She wanted to believe it was the latter. She hated to think that blood could be blamed.

Shivering in spite of the heat, she rubbed her bare shoulders. If blood could in fact be blamed for how people turned out what did that mean for her and her son? She was the product of a hooker and her john. Bobbie had turned her life around, but the john was still a nameless and faceless entity. Was Bobbie's change enough to counter the bad blood?

Lucky had an unorthodox childhood, but he had been, raised by two parents, who were devoted to him. He'd had all that opportunity and yet he'd still turned into a monster. What if there was a monster lurking inside of everyone just waiting to emerge? The old argument of nature verses nurture that she vaguely recalled from health class came to her. Were people programmed at birth by genetics, or did the environment they were raised in shape them?

"Christ," Carly turned and stalked back in the penthouse. She was going to go insane if she didn't distract herself in some way. Emily was asleep, Zander was next door taking a shower, Michael was asleep, Leticia was shopping, all she had for entertainment was herself. Picking up a magazine she flipped through it searching for a distraction.

The Quartermaine's could hardly be considered good blood either. They were blue blood, but that didn't mean anything. There were a lot of vipers in that family tree. And since AJ was Michael's father it meant he had Quartermaine blood rolling through him as well.

"This is not helping," Carly grumbled when she realized what she was doing.

A knock sounded on the door and Carly leapt off the couch, heading for the door, she didn't care if it was a Jehovah Witness she was inviting them in, whether Sonny liked it or not. Yanking the door open Carly's expression turned to one of confusion. "Lila?"

"Carly," the older woman beamed. "I know it's an awful day but may I come in for a minute?"

"Of course," Carly stepped back to let the chauffer wheel Lila in. Searching the hall briefly she closed the door after the chauffer stepped out. "Did you finally ditch Reginald?"

"No," Lila answered sharply, knowing full well that Carly and Reginald didn't get along she let it drop. "How is Emily?"

"She's resting right now." Carly joined Lila by the couch. "I think rest is the best thing for her so I don't think we should wake her."

"I know she's not ready to see me, I was just asking about her," Lila knew what Carly was trying not to say.

"Okay," Carly settled on the couch then abruptly shot to her feet again. "Would you like something to drink? I think we have some tea," she frowned, Sonny would be mad if she searched his cabinets for it.

"No Carly, please sit," Lila ordered softly. "Why are you so nervous?"

"I don't know," she ran a hand through her tangled blonde hair. "Guilt maybe."

"Because of Elizabeth?" Lila asked wisely.

"Yeah," Carly slumped back on the couch. "It's hard for me to believe that Lucky killed her and threw her in the river. It's hard to believe that Lucky killed her at all. I didn't know what was going on with Elizabeth. But I've been sitting here all morning thinking about the signs that were there, the signs I should have picked up on, even though I rarely saw Elizabeth. They were there and I missed them."

"You aren't the only one who missed the signs."

"I know but I'm the one who will be blamed," she pulled her hands, that had been scrubbing at her eyes, down and glanced sheepishly at Lila. "Didn't take me too long to make this all about me did it?"

"Why would you be blamed?" Lila ignored the words. She knew Carly, this was just the way she thought, it didn't mean she didn't care.

"Elizabeth called here the night she died looking for Sonny and I didn't put her through." The thought of lying to make herself look better never even occurred to her. Lila knew her and loved her warts and all, she never had to hide who she really was with Lila. "Also a week or so earlier she came here with a letter for Sonny, I made sure he didn't see it."

"You said yourself that you didn't know what was happening with Elizabeth," Lila reminded her without any form of censure.

"No I didn't know Lucky was beating her. That he planned on killing her that night and throwing her body in the river," Carly admitted with a sigh.

Carly's words penetrated and Emily sank limply on the stairs. What little hope she'd managed to hold onto fled taking her strength with it. Jason had been wrong. Elizabeth was dead. She covered her mouth in horror when she realized that she must have seen Lucky kill her just like she'd thought. She had never wanted to be wrong, so badly in her life. It was true there was no part of Lucky left anymore, all he was, was a walking shell.

Feeling sick to her stomach, she got to her feet and moved slowly up the stairs. Her movements were stiff, robotic like, but neither woman in the living room saw her go.

"You're not the only one who feels guilty. Who thinks that if only they'd done more, than all of this might be changed," Lila admitted softly. "You're not the only one questioning things."

"What do you have to feel guilty about?" Carly asked and her attention was caught by something the older woman was clutching in her hands. "What do you have?"

"This is why I'm here. It's also why I feel guilty." Lila looked down on the book she'd agonized over for five days now. "You weren't the only one Elizabeth paid a visit too. You weren't the only one who did nothing to help her."

****

~Yacht~

"You do realize that we don't have a warrant right?" Garcia asked when Taggert headed up the steep stairs that led to the entry of the yacht.

"Yes." Taggert crossed the small plank step and moved on the yacht.

"Good, I wasn't sure if you were aware of that," Garcia continued his commentary even as he followed Taggert down the deck.

Taggert opened a door that led to the salon and reached for his gun when a smell hit him. "Looks like we got probable cause."

"Yes it does." Garcia automatically reached for his radio, but Taggert took it out of his hand. "We need to call this in Marcus."

"We will, later on." Taggert turned the radio off and tucked it in his pockets before firming his grip on the gun and heading down the darkened and narrow hall.

Sighing loudly Garcia pulled out his gun and followed his partner. He couldn't help but hope that Lucky was gone, if not there was a good chance Taggert would try to kill him, and he wasn't sure if he would try to stop Taggert or not. It wasn't a dilemma he'd ever wanted to face, but it was a good chance he was about too.

Habit and training had Taggert doing a cursory check of each of the darkened rooms as he moved down the hall. But his focus was on the double doors that were ajar at the end of the hall. He knew the doors led to the master suite, and judging from the odor, it was also where he'd find the trouble. With each step he took the heavy smell of death and blood grew.

Taggert said a prayer to a god he was no longer talking too, that he'd find Lucky in the dark room. He hoped Lucky was the live person in the room. He wanted to be the one to kill Lucky. It didn't matter that if he killed Lucky in cold blood he would be considered a murderer just like the boy was. The only thing in his heart, in his mind, was an unquenched thirst for vengeance. Lucky, had killed his sister and for that he deserved to die.

It seemed that the primal blood that made up men, could only be cloaked in civilization for so long. Sometimes, sooner or later, the bonds that society placed on men, were ripped away, leaving only the primal beast. Most people never lost the bindings, but sometimes something so heinous happened and the civilized was lost. Sometimes the primal way was best, vengeance and violence was best, and his blood was screaming for retribution.

All of these thoughts flashed through his mind in a blink of an eye, and soon he found himself next to the door of the stateroom. He waited a second for Garcia to draw near before pushing the door open and entering the dark room. The sight that greeted him was not what he wanted to see. "It looks like the rabid dog beat us here," he remarked sourly.

Garcia nodded and moved closer to the deathbed of Helena Cassadine. If he hadn't seen the blood crusting on her, her fixed open stare, the odor was a definite indicator of death. Moving past the bed he began a visual search of the otherwise empty room.

Taggert worked hard on staving off his anger. He'd been too late and Lucky Spencer had slipped through his fingers yet again. He needed to keep in control here, if he gave into the rage he was feeling too soon, he'd never find Spencer, and he intended on finding the boy.

His attention was caught by a faint noise and he took a step back the way he came and listened hard. Taggert was rewarded when he heard the sound again. It seemed there was someone else on the yacht. Smiling in the dark he reached for his gun. Maybe Lucky was still here. He turned to alert Garcia, just in time to see his partner disappear into the bathroom. Taking that as a sign, Taggert moved out into the hall on his own.

There was a chance that Garcia might try to interfere with his plans for Lucky. He wasn't sure what he would do if Garcia did interfere. It was better he went on his own. Moving down the hall quietly he turned a corner and saw light spilling out from a door midway down the hall.

Another muffled sound reached his ear, and he picked up his pace. He paused by the door and brought up a mental picture of how Gia had looked in death. Picturing her still, yet still beautiful face, hardened his resolve. He cocked the hammer of the gun, and preparing to end it once and for all, he stepped into the doorway, gun first.


End file.
